afflatus

Creative breath within

Afflatus is a divine creative impulse or inspiration, especially the kind that seizes poets, prophets, or artists.

The word suggests breath blown into someone from a higher source—inspiration in its most literal sense.

It's literary and somewhat archaic: She waited for the afflatus that would unlock her next novel.

The term implies creativity that comes unbidden rather than through deliberate effort.

divine

prophecy

Foretelling of future events

revelationSurprising disclosed truth
theophanyVisible appearance of deity
oracleAuthoritative wisdom source

vision · sacred · deity · grace · providence · holiness · sanctity · numinous · beatific · seraphic

creative

muse

Think deeply about

geniusPerson of rare brilliance
imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
artistryExceptional creative skill

invention · originality · ingenuity · visionary · innovation · flair · inventiveness · conceptualize · ideation · brainstorming

epiphanic

revelation

Surprising disclosed truth

insightDeep perceptive understanding
breakthroughSudden important advance
illuminationProvision of light

enlightenment · realization · awakening · satori · eureka · clarity · flash · intuition · discernment · apprehension

mystical

rapture

Overwhelming ecstatic feeling

ecstasyOverwhelming intense delight
blissPerfect, serene felicity
aweReverent fear and wonder

sublime · transcendence · wonder · ethereal · celestial · reverie · beatitude · harmony · enchantment · euphoria

Opposites

source of creative impulse

afflatusdrudgery

Hard, boring work

toil · grind · plodding · perspiration · routine

creative state

afflatuswriter's block

Inability to produce text

barrenness · sterility · aridity · drought · emptiness

Family

inflate, deflate, aspiration, aspirant, conflate, souffle, aspirational

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Abstract · Positive · Rated G