animation

noun

an·​i·​ma·​tion ˌa-nə-ˈmā-shən How to pronounce animation (audio)
plural animations
1
: the act of animating : the state of being animate or animated
2
: a movie, scene, or sequence that simulates movement from a series of still frames (such as drawings, computer graphics, or photographs of inanimate objects moved incrementally)
His work often condenses stories of intricate subjects into brief looping animations.Paul Tough
The work, titled Bigger Christmas Trees, was created on an iPad and features ten minutes of animation.Julia Binswanger
And as the animation above shows, this tilt causes the Moon's shadow to miss the Earth.Tom Yulsman
3
: the preparation of animation (as for animated cartoons, video games, commercials, etc.)

Examples of animation in a Sentence

The animation for the film took over two years to complete. The studio used computer animation for some of the special effects. The website has hundreds of animations you can download.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Represented by the red circle in the animation above (the symbols approximate the dominant color in the silks of each horse’s jockey), Swiss Skydiver was just the sixth filly, or female, to win the Preakness. Annie Jennemann, Baltimore Sun, 6 May 2025 Adding a border, animation, or resizing behavior is just as simple. PC Magazine, 5 May 2025 There’s also room for animation, action, and hard-hitting documentaries, proving that Black stories continue to defy genre constraints. Okla Jones, Essence, 1 May 2025 Approximately 250 items were drawn from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection—some very rarely seen in public before—and were displayed in entirely new ways, thanks to video animation, light projection, soundscaping, AI, CGI, and other forms of sensory stimulation. Christian Allaire, Vogue, 1 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for animation

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of animation was in 1597

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Cite this Entry

“Animation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animation. Accessed 20 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

animation

noun
an·​i·​ma·​tion ˌan-ə-ˈmā-shən How to pronounce animation (audio)
1
: the state of being animate or animated
2
a
: a film made by photographing a series of positions of objects (as puppets)
3
: the making of animations

Medical Definition

animation

noun
an·​i·​ma·​tion ˌan-ə-ˈmā-shən How to pronounce animation (audio)
: the state of being animate or animated see suspended animation

More from Merriam-Webster on animation

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