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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.
Synonyms
Examples of animate in a Sentence
Wesley Parnell, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2023
Her gospel draws on the individual impulse to tinker, prevalent in early America and throughout its history, and joins it with an appreciation for animate objects developed in her five years as a miko, or shrine maiden, at a Shinto temple.
—Coco Krumme, WIRED, 13 Sep. 2023
The counterintuitive and sinewy motions of snakes, stingrays, and skydivers represent a strange kind of motion that is notoriously hard to simulate, animate, or anticipate.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Sep. 2023
The great couples of the highbrow set animate the book, from Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir to Diana and Lionel Trilling to Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady.
—Beverly Gage, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2021
Along the way, though, Heard and company animate enough winning moments to make even the creakier passages feel compelling.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2023
James Bullard, as St. Louis Fed president, has often pushed back against some of the conventional macroeconomic models that animate Fed policy.
—Nick Timiraos, WSJ, 13 July 2023
Nearly every corner of the Playhouse was animate: Mr. Window, Chairry, Floory, Chandelier.
—Bruce Handy, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2023
The teddy bear cholla cactus, Joshua trees and other flora in the nearby arboretum animate visitors.
—Mark Eddington, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 July 2023
Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2023
The rise of generative AI has animated the tech sector and broader public — becoming the latest buzzword out of Silicon Valley since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT service late last year.
—Catherine Thorbecke, CNN, 21 Sep. 2023
Although animated, the series grapples with some serious issues.
—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 21 Sep. 2023
Crisp-soft slices of summer squash animated by garlic-chile oil.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2023
If that sounds a little far out, recall the child playing with her toys: an intrinsic element of her play is her summoning of life to those toys, seeing them as animated.
—Time, 20 Sep. 2023
In March 2019, Brenton Tarrant, a white supremacist terrorist animated by these dangerous ideologies and strategies, murdered 51 worshipers in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
—Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware, Foreign Affairs, 19 Sep. 2023
Several party leaders predicted that even voters who voice ambivalence about Biden will ultimately be animated to vote against the Republican choice, especially if that choice is Trump.
—Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2023
Nick Saban animated and upset with officials after returning to field following lightning delay.
—Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 16 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'animate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Adjective and Verb
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
Adjective
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near animate
Cite this Entry
“Animate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animate. Accessed 1 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
animate
2 of 2 verb
Adjective
Middle English animate "alive," from Latin animatus (same meaning), derived from anima "soul, breath" — related to animal see Word History at animal
More from Merriam-Webster on animate
Nglish: Translation of animate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of animate for Arabic Speakers
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