Definition of animate
animately
adverbanimateness
nounIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
Examples of animate in a Sentence
The lecture was about ancient worship of animate and inanimate objects.
an animate dance routine that will really get the blood pumping
Did You Know?
The Latin word anima meaning “breath, soul” that gave us “animal” has given us other words. The English adjective animate meaning “alive” comes from the Latin verb animare, meaning “to give life to,” which in turn came from anima. A characteristic of animals is their ability to move. When a cartoon is drawn and filmed in such a way that lifelike movement is produced, it is animated. An animated film seems to have a life of its own.
Origin and Etymology of animate
Middle English, from Latin animatus, past participle of animare to give life to, from anima breath, soul; akin to Old English ōthian to breathe, Latin animus spirit, Greek anemos wind, Sanskrit aniti he breathes
First Known Use: 14th century
Other Biology Terms
Definition of animate
animated
;animating
transitive verb
1 : to give spirit and support to : encourage
2a : to give life tob : to give vigor and zest to
3 : to move to action a criminal animated by greed
4a : to make or design in such a way as to create apparently spontaneous lifelike movement animate a cartoonb : to produce in the form of an animated cartoon animate a story
Examples of animate in a Sentence
The writer's humor animates the novel.
The film's very realistic dinosaurs were animated on computers.
Origin and Etymology of animate
see 1animate
First Known Use: 15th century
Synonym Discussion of animate
ANIMATE Defined for English Language Learners
animate
playDefinition of animate for English Language Learners
-
: having life : alive or living
animate
playDefinition of animate for English Language Learners
-
: to make (someone or something) lively or excited
-
: to make (something, such as a drawing) appear to move by creating a series of drawings, pictures, etc., and showing them quickly one after another : to make (something) appear to move by using the process of animation
ANIMATE Defined for Kids
Definition of animate for Students
animated
;animating
1 : to give life or energy to : make alive or lively He was surprised at the eagerness which animated the whole team … — Jack London, The Call of the Wild
2 : to make appear to move animate a cartoon
Word Root of animate
The Latin word anima, meaning “breath” or “spirit,” gives us the root anim. Words from the Latin anima have something to do with having breath or spirit. An animal is a living creature that breathes and can move around on its own. To animate something is to give it breath or life. Someone magnanimous has a courageous spirit.
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about animate
-
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for animate Spanish Central: Translation of animate Nglish: Translation of animate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of animate for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up animate? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!