animation
noun
an·i·ma·tion
ˌa-nə-ˈmā-shən 
plural animations
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
Paul ToughThe work, titled Bigger Christmas Trees, was created on an iPad and features ten minutes of animation.—Julia Binswanger
Julia BinswangerAnd as the animation above shows, this tilt causes the Moon's shadow to miss the Earth.—Tom Yulsman
Tom Yulsman3
: 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
The original Charlie the Unicorn flash animation, created by Jason Steele (FilmCow), was released on Newgrounds in 2005.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
The original Charlie the Unicorn flash animation, created by Jason Steele (FilmCow), was released on Newgrounds in 2005 — Newgrounds being an early animation and gaming site that was essentially a creative hub before YouTube existed.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 23 Mar. 2026
To keep up with ever-increasing viewer demands, Xu said Youku has had to keep raising the series’ production quality, from the level of detail in its animations to hiring better artists to paint the watercolor stills that appear in the show.
—Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026
Pixar, the storied animation studio that built its brand on telling stories that could play across generations, hit a rough patch in recent times, but its new movie Hoppers has seemingly broken the curse.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for animation
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Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
The original Charlie the Unicorn flash animation, created by Jason Steele (FilmCow), was released on Newgrounds in 2005 — Newgrounds being an early animation and gaming site that was essentially a creative hub before YouTube existed.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 23 Mar. 2026
To keep up with ever-increasing viewer demands, Xu said Youku has had to keep raising the series’ production quality, from the level of detail in its animations to hiring better artists to paint the watercolor stills that appear in the show.
—Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026
Pixar, the storied animation studio that built its brand on telling stories that could play across generations, hit a rough patch in recent times, but its new movie Hoppers has seemingly broken the curse.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for animation
Cite this Entry
“Animation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animation. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
animation
noun
an·i·ma·tion
ˌan-ə-ˈmā-shən
1
: the state of being animate or animated
2
a
: a film made by photographing a series of positions of objects (as puppets)
b
3
: the making of animations
Medical Definition
animation
noun
an·i·ma·tion
ˌan-ə-ˈmā-shən
: the state of being animate or animated see suspended animation
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