animation

noun

an·​i·​ma·​tion ˌa-nə-ˈmā-shən 

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.)

Synonyms of animation

• brightness
• liveliness
• vigorousness
• exuberance
• cheerfulness
• vibrancy
• briskness
• vitality
• sprightliness
• vibrance
• robustness
• enthusiasm
• spirit
• jazziness

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 roughly 45-second animation — projected without authorization — looped for more than 30 minutes and satirized the State of the Union. —Oren Peleg, HollywoodReporter, 6 June 2026

Supercharging Canary Island animation studio Anima Kitchen, VFX giant DNEG has acquired the Canary Islands’ Anima Kitchent. —John Hopewell, Variety, 4 June 2026

Focusing on film, series and animation, the new event will include content pitching sessions and awards, an industry conference and networking platform, along with an exhibition space for around 500 studios, creators and creative businesses. —Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 3 June 2026

Following the tone of season 2, similar animation-to-live-action remixes are in store again, including with Sokka. —Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing animation

• suspended animation
• with animation

Rhymes for animation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids 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

: animated cartoon

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