Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense animates, present participle animating, past tense, past participle animatedpronunciation note: The adjective is pronounced (ænɪmət). The verb is pronounced (ænɪmeɪt).
1. adjective
Something that is animate has life, in contrast to things like stones and machines which do not.
...all aspects of the material world, animate and inanimate.
Synonyms: living, live, moving, alive More Synonyms of animate
2. verb
To animate something means to make it lively or more cheerful.
There was precious little about the cricket to animate the crowd. [VERB noun]
The girls watched, little teasing smiles animating their faces. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: enliven, encourage, excite, urge More Synonyms of animate
English Easy Learning GrammarTypes of nounNouns can be classified according to what they refer to. Nouns that are really names are called proper nouns. Proper nouns usually refer toa particular ... Read more
animate in British English
verb (ˈænɪˌmeɪt)(transitive)
1.
to give life to or cause to come alive
2.
to make lively; enliven
3.
to encourage or inspire
4.
to impart motion to; move to action or work
5.
to record on film or video tape so as to give movement to
an animated cartoon
adjective (ˈænɪmɪt)
6.
being alive or having life
7.
gay, spirited, or lively
Word origin
C16: from Latin animāre to fill with breath, make alive, from anima breath, spirit
animate in American English
(ˈænɪˌmeɪt; for adj., ˈænəmɪt)
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈaniˌmated or ˈaniˌmating
1.
to give life to; bring to life
2.
to make energetic or spirited
3.
to stimulate to action or creative effort; inspire
4.
to give motion to; put into action
the breeze animated the leaves
5.
to make move so as to seem lifelike
to animate puppets
6.
to produce as an animated cartoon
to animate a fairy tale
adjective
7.
living; having life, esp. animal life
8.
lively; vigorous; spirited
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈliving
SYNONYMY NOTE: animate implies a making alive or lively [an animated conversation] or an imparting of motion or activity [an animated doll]; to quicken is to rouse to action that which is lifeless or inert [the rebuff quickened his resolution]; exhilarate implies an enlivening or elevation of the spirits; , stimulate implies a rousing from inertia, inactivity, or lethargy, as if by goading; , invigorate means to fill with vigor or energy in a physical sense [an invigorating tonic]; vitalize implies the imparting of vigor or animation in a nonphysical sense [to vitalize a dull story]
OPPOSITES: deaden, depress, enervate
Derived forms
animateness (ˈanimateness)
noun
Word origin
< L animatus, pp. of animare, to make alive, fill with breath < anima: see animal
Examples of 'animate' in a sentence
animate
`I don't suppose it'll animate us, but it's lovely stuff, all the same.
Sillitoe, Alan THE OPEN DOOR (2001)
The muscles needed to animate the T-101s faces with their self-contained nervous system were also progressing nicely.
S.M. Stirling T2: INFILTRATOR (2001)
In other languages
animate
British English: animate ADJECTIVE
Something that is animate has life, in contrast to things like stones and machines which do not.
...all aspects of the material world, animate and inanimate.
American English: animate
Brazilian Portuguese: animado
Chinese: 有生命的
European Spanish: animado
French: animé
German: lebend
Italian: animato
Japanese: 生命のある
Korean: 생명이 있는
European Portuguese: animado
Latin American Spanish: animado
British English: animate VERB
To animate something means to make it lively or more cheerful.
There was precious little about the cricket to animate the crowd.