Difference between “inspiring” and “inspirational”

Question

What is the difference between the words inspiring and inspirational? In which context should one choose one over the other?

Answer 1

One difference is that inspiring always means that someone is inspired, whereas inspirational can also be used in compounds where it means only that something is intended to inspire; an inspirational speaker (or "motivational speaker"), for example, is someone whose job is to give speeches that are intended to inspire, without regard for whether they succeed (so "boring inspirational speaker" is not a contradiction in terms), and similarly, an inspirational poster (or "motivational poster") is a poster that is (supposedly) intended to inspire positive qualities, but I don't think it generally succeeds. But this use is non-predicative; in "the speaker was inspirational" (predicate adjective) or "a very inspirational poster" (modified by very), that meaning is not available, so in these cases inspirational just means inspiring.

Answer 2

Inspirational is more closely associated with the spirit in a religious context; an example is "inspirational hymn". Inspiring can have the same meaning but is used more commonly in the sense of uplifting or creating an impetus to action; an example is "the coach gave an inspiring half-time speech".

Answer 3

From usage I have seen (to the limited extent I did), the two words are quite different.

inspiring is typically used to qualify something post-facto: 'The speech was inspiring.'

inspirational is common in qualifying in functional terms: 'He is going to deliver an inspirational speech.' (intended to be or do/ supposed to be or do, looking forward).

I do not think we can find an authentic reference on the above lines, though.

Answer 4

"Inspirational" shows intent; "Inspiring" shows effect. So, "Inspirational" often carries an ironic comment on the pretensions of the subject. It is often hyperbole. "Inspiring" is a clean and simple word meaning to be filled with breath which suggests that there was something "breathtaking" about the subjects action. I chose "inspiring" in all uses, except the ironic.