Literary notes about inane (AI summary)
The term "inane" is employed in literature to convey a sense of emptiness or foolishness, often critiquing triviality in human behavior or societal norms. Writers use it to characterize not only shallow dialogue and meaningless expressions—as when a character sports an "inane smile" or issues "inane questions" ([1], [2])—but also to underscore the futility of certain actions or ideas, such as the division between the serene and the inane ([3]) or the portrayal of insubstantial Utopias ([4]). Whether describing a dismissive conversation that dies in "inane helplessness" ([5]) or a laughably vacuous demeanor ([6]), "inane" helps authors sharpen their commentary on the absurdity or lack of significance in what is presented as social or personal expression ([7], [8]).
- I have worn an inane smile all day, and when I tried to read my Plato, it merely bored me.
— from Dodo's Daughter: A Sequel to Dodo by E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson - He asked inane questions, complimented Dick on his looks, began to tease him about some girl.
— from Twelve Men by Theodore Dreiser - After that I had time to meditate on the line that divides the serene from the inane, the simple from the silly.
— from Louisa Pallant by Henry James - For it is remarkable how inane and unimaginative Utopias have generally been.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - It seems impossible to make the conversation as fine as the clothes, and so it dies in a kind of inane helplessness.
— from The Works of Charles Dudley WarnerProject Gutenberg Editions by Charles Dudley Warner - "You are perfectly useless if you smile in that inane manner," he said.
— from Thorley Weir by E. F. (Edward Frederic) Benson - The artist, seizing the opportunity with the cunning of desperation, turned to Mrs. Taine, with some inane remark about the summers in California.
— from The Eyes of the World by Harold Bell Wright - And we marched away in the general direction of home, to the rhythm of that inane ditty that Ben picked up in that terrible city.
— from A Maid and a Million Men the candid confessions of Leona Canwick, censored indiscreetly by James G. Dunton by James G. (James Gerald) Dunton
