Definition of animate
animately
adverbanimateness
nounRead the Latest from M-W
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
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Several people have stories about more animate luggage.
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
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.
Recent Examples of animate from the Web
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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.
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The curtain rose as Prince Tamino, sung by tenor Aaron Blake, was being chased by a fantastic, larger-than-life animated dragon.
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The script goes to considerable lengths to suggest that everything Chauncey does—including his acts of heroism—is animated by profound self-loathing.
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Jackson’s channeling of backcountry egalitarianism led to universal white male suffrage — and that in turn was the basis and animating spirit for truly universal suffrage.
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Glover himself voices the role of Morales for an animated TV series and Shameik Moore will be taking over the role for the big screen, animated version.
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Glover himself voices the role of Morales for an animated TV series and Shameik Moore will be taking over the role for the big screen, animated version.
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Still images from their works were animated and set to music.
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Cho collaborates with the Sixers’ sports science department to create dietary guidelines for their players, and then animates that criteria in personalized dishes particular players enjoy.
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.
Origin and Etymology of animate
see 1animate
Synonym Discussion of animate
ANIMATE Defined for English Language Learners
animate
playDefinition of animate for English Language Learners
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: having life : alive or living
animate
playDefinition of animate for English Language Learners
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: to make (someone or something) lively or excited
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: 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
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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
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