animate

adjective

an·​i·​mate ˈa-nə-mət 

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

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.

Synonyms of animate

• animated
• lively
• energetic
• active

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 on the Web

Woe unto those who fail to entertain, animate or amuse. —Mark Barabak, Mercury News, 13 May 2026

Zugunruhe is the itinerant desire of any animate being to keep moving and growing. —Big Think, 6 May 2026

The house is dizzyingly animate, like a video game where every object is a glowing grail. —Olivia Kan-Sperling, Artforum, 2 May 2026

If the creation of a new labor force once required the sacrifice of the worker-god to animate worker-humans, pieces from this exhibition show artists working to interpret how the worker-human has been continuously sacrificed to animate our new worker-machines. —Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 6 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for animate

• inanimate

Kids Definition

animate

1 of 2 adjective

an·​i·​mate ˈan-ə-mət 

1

: having life : alive

2

: animated sense 1, lively

animately adverb

animate

2 of 2 verb

an·​i·​mate ˈan-ə-ˌmāt 

animated; animating

1

: to give life to : make alive

2

: to give spirit and vigor to : enliven

3

: to make as an animated cartoon

animate a story

Etymology

Middle English animate "alive," from Latin animatus (same meaning), derived from anima "soul, breath" — related to animal see Word History at animal

Word Origin

The same 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 about. When a cartoon is drawn and filmed in such a way that lifelike movement is produced, we say it is animated. An animated film seems to have a life of its own.

Medical Definition

animate

adjective

an·​i·​mate ˈan-ə-mət 

1

: possessing or characterized by life

2

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