animate

play

adjective an·i·mate \ ˈa-nə-mət \

Definition of animate

1 :possessing or characterized by life :alive

2 :full of life :animated

3 :of or relating to animal life as opposed to plant life

4 :referring to a living thing

an animate noun

—

animately

adverb

—

animateness

noun

See animate defined for English-language learners

See animate defined for kids

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

Recent Examples of animate from the Web

Several people have stories about more animate luggage.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "That Time the TSA Found a Scientist’s 3-D-Printed Mouse Penis," 23 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'animate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

animate Synonyms

Other Biology Terms

autochthonous, fecund, homunculus, phylogeny, substrate

animate

play

verb an·i·mate \ -ˌmāt \

Definition of animate

animated; animating

transitive verb

1 :to give spirit and support to :encourage

2 a :to give life to

b :to give vigor and zest to

3 :to move to action

a criminal animated by greed

4 a :to make or design in such a way as to create apparently spontaneous lifelike movement

animate a cartoon

b :to produce in the form of an animated cartoon

animate a story

See animate defined for English-language learners

Examples of animate in a Sentence

The writer's humor animates the novel.
The film's very realistic dinosaurs were animated on computers.

Recent Examples of animate from the Web

Eddings' story a from drug dealer to bakery boss a was recently animated into a 3-minute video for the company's Second Chance Project.

— samantha swindler, OregonLive.com, "For convicted felons, a career can be a second chance," 30 Aug. 2017
Warner Bros. The weather may be getting cooler but movies are coming in hot this fall, with evil clowns, suave superspies, animated ninjas and Tom Cruise flying a plane (again).

— brian truitt, USA TODAY, "10 movies you absolutely must see this fall, from 'It' to 'Wonderstruck'," 30 Aug. 2017
And yet dismantling Obama’s policy legacy may be the only reason animating Trump’s decision to end the program.

— cristian farias, Daily Intelligencer, "If Trump Plans to Expose Dreamers to Deportation, He Should Explain the Decision to Houston’s Young Immigrants," 29 Aug. 2017
There’s also another fun animated short that serves as background.

— hayden dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: KFC's creepy VR training, Anno 1800 revealed, Brink goes free-to-play," 25 Aug. 2017
The latest episode even included covers of the song from Fall Out Boy, Cee Lo Green and Puffy AmiYumi, with the former two acts also making (animated) cameos in the series while their versions played.

— kevin rutherford, Billboard, "'Teen Titans Go!' Anthem 'The Night Begins to Shine' Debuts on Rock Charts," 18 Aug. 2017
PEETE: [In 1993, after three years of losing out to me], Andre was more animated about getting his shot.

— jonathan jones, SI.com, "Game of Throws: Inside the World of Quarterback Competitions," 8 Aug. 2017
The appearance of bears animated us more than morning coffee.

— clark fair, Alaska Dispatch News, "Beyond the bears: Here’s a rundown of other Brooks Camp attractions in Katmai," 29 July 2017
But remember, this is a creative industry that very recently tried to convince its fans that modeling and animating a female character was too much work.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Crash Bandicoot remaster cut corners on the freaking jump button," 18 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of animate

see ¹animate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

animate Synonyms

Synonyms

amp (up), brace, energize, enliven, fillip, fire, ginger (up), invigorate, jazz (up), juice up, jump-start, liven (up), pep (up), quicken, spike, stimulate, vitalize, vivify, zip (up)

Antonyms

damp, dampen, deaden, dull, kill

Related Words

arouse, awake, awaken, raise, rouse, stir, wake (up); activate, actuate, drive, impel, motivate, motive, move, propel; charge, electrify, galvanize; enkindle, excite, ferment, foment, incite, inflame (also enflame), instigate, kindle, provoke, set off, spark, trigger, turn on, whip (up); abet, boost, buoy, cheer, embolden, fortify, hearten, infuse, inspire, lift, rally, steel, strengthen; reactivate, reanimate, reawake, reawaken, recharge, recreate, reenergize, refresh, refreshen, regenerate, reinvigorate, rejuvenate, rekindle, renew, restimulate, resurrect, resuscitate, revitalize, revive

Near Antonyms

burn out, debilitate, do in, drain, enervate, enfeeble, exhaust, fag, fatigue, harass, kayo, knock out, sap, tucker (out), undermine, wash out, weaken, wear, wear out, weary; check, curb, inhibit, jade, quell, quench, repress, restrain, slow, still, stunt, suppress; daunt, demoralize, discourage, dishearten, dispirit

Synonym Discussion of animate

quicken, animate, enliven, vivify mean to make alive or lively. quicken stresses a sudden renewal of life or activity especially in something inert.

- the arrival of spring quickens the earth

animate emphasizes the imparting of motion or vitality to what is or might be mechanical or artificial.

- happiness animated his conversation

enliven suggests a stimulus that arouses from dullness or torpidity.

- enlivened her lectures with humorous anecdotes

vivify implies a freshening or energizing through renewal of vitality.

- new blood needed to vivify the dying club

ANIMATE Defined for English Language Learners

animate

play

adjective

Definition of animate for English Language Learners

: having life : alive or living

animate

play

verb

Definition 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

animate

play

adjective an·i·mate \ ˈa-nə-mət \

Definition of animate for Students

:having life

animate

play

verb an·i·mate \ ˈa-nə-ˌmāt \

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.