Standard Lemma guide

animation

noun · 12 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌæn.ɪˈmeɪ.ʃən/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • South-Asia: /ə.nɪˈme.ʃən/
  • rhymes with -eɪʃən
  • CMU ARPABET: AE2 N AH0 M EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of animating, or giving life or spirit.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A sequence of still drawings or inanimate objects displayed in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement in motion pictures or computer graphics; the object (film, computer game, etc.) produced

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Qualifier: animation

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The state of being lively, brisk, or full of spirit and vigor; vivacity; spiritedness

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • He recited the story with great animation.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The condition of being animate (alive or supernaturally seeming alive).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: animacy, animateness

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

conversion from the inanimate to animate grammatical category

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Activities offered by a holiday resort encompassing activities that include movement, joy, leisure and spectacle, such as games, sports, shows, events, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

general activity and motion

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: liveliness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: activity

8

noun

Meaning 8

the making of animated cartoons

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: filming, cinematography, motion-picture photography

9

noun

Meaning 9

the activity of giving vitality and vigour to something

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: vivification, invigoration

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: energizing, activating, activation

10

noun

Meaning 10

quality of being active or spirited or alive and vigorous

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spiritedness, invigoration, brio, vivification

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: activeness, activity

Narrower terms: chirpiness, liveliness, life, spirit, sprightliness

11

noun

Meaning 11

the property of being able to survive and grow

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the vitality of a seed

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: vitality

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: animateness, aliveness, liveness

12

noun

Meaning 12

the condition of living or the state of being alive

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • while there's life there's hope
  • life depends on many chemical and physical processes

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: life, living, aliveness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: being, beingness, existence

Narrower terms: eternal life, life eternal, skin, survival, endurance

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h2enh1- Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *h2enh1mos Proto-Italic *anamos Latin animus Latin anima Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh2yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h2tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin animō Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin animatiōlbor. English animation Learned borrowing from Latin animatiō, from animō, equivalent to animate + -ion.

Across languages

Translations

116 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: съживя́ване (sǎživjávane) — the act of animating
  • Czech: animování — the act of animating
  • Czech: oživení — the act of animating
  • Danish: animation — the act of animating
  • Finnish: elävöittäminen — the act of animating
  • French: animation — the act of animating
  • French: invigoration — the act of animating
  • Georgian: გაცოცხლება (gacocxleba) — the act of animating
  • German: Belebung — the act of animating
  • German: Vitalisierung — the act of animating
  • Ido: animo — the act of animating
  • Indonesian: animasi — the act of animating
  • Italian: ravvivamento — the act of animating
  • Italian: animazione — the act of animating
  • Italian: vivificazione — the act of animating
  • Latin: animātiō — the act of animating
  • Māori: hākoritanga — the act of animating
  • Portuguese: animação — the act of animating
  • Romanian: animare — the act of animating
  • Romanian: însuflețire — the act of animating
  • Russian: оживле́ние (oživlénije) — the act of animating
  • Russian: одушевле́ние (oduševlénije) — the act of animating
  • Scottish Gaelic: beothachadh — the act of animating
  • Slovak: oživenie — the act of animating
  • Spanish: vivificación — the act of animating
  • Spanish: animación — the act of animating
  • Swedish: animering — the act of animating
  • Albanian: animacion — causing images to appear to move
  • Arabic: إِحْيَاء (ʔiḥyāʔ) — causing images to appear to move
  • Arabic: تَحْرِيك (taḥrīk) — causing images to appear to move
  • Arabic: تَحْرِيك صُوَر (taḥrīk ṣuwar) — causing images to appear to move
  • Armenian: անիմացիա (animacʻia) — causing images to appear to move
  • Armenian: մուլտիպլիկացիա (multiplikacʻia) — causing images to appear to move
  • Azerbaijani: animasiya — causing images to appear to move
  • Azerbaijani: multiplikasiya — causing images to appear to move
  • Belarusian: аніма́цыя (animácyja) — causing images to appear to move
  • Belarusian: мультыпліка́цыя (mulʹtyplikácyja) — causing images to appear to move
  • Bengali: অ্যানিমেশন (ênimeśon) — causing images to appear to move
  • Bulgarian: анима́ция (animácija) — causing images to appear to move
  • Burmese: အန်နီမေးရှင်း (annime:hrang:) — causing images to appear to move
  • Catalan: animació — causing images to appear to move
  • Chinese Mandarin: 動畫 /动画 (dònghuà) — causing images to appear to move
  • Chinese Mandarin: 動漫 /动漫 (dòngmàn) — causing images to appear to move
  • Czech: animace — causing images to appear to move
  • Danish: animation — causing images to appear to move
  • Dutch: animatie — causing images to appear to move
  • Esperanto: animacio — causing images to appear to move
  • Estonian: animatsioon — causing images to appear to move
  • Estonian: multiplikatsioon — causing images to appear to move
  • Finnish: animaatio — causing images to appear to move
  • Finnish: animointi — causing images to appear to move
  • French: animation — causing images to appear to move
  • Galician: animación — causing images to appear to move
  • Georgian: ანიმაცია (animacia) — causing images to appear to move
  • Georgian: მულტიპლიკაცია (mulṭiṗliḳacia) — causing images to appear to move
  • German: Animation — causing images to appear to move
  • Greek: απεικόνιση (apeikónisi) — causing images to appear to move
  • Hebrew: הַנְפָּשָׁה (hanpashá) — causing images to appear to move
  • Hindi: एनिमेशन (enimeśan) — causing images to appear to move
  • Hungarian: élénkség — causing images to appear to move
  • Hungarian: elevenség — causing images to appear to move
  • Icelandic: hreyfimynd — causing images to appear to move
  • Indonesian: animasi — causing images to appear to move
  • Irish: beochan — causing images to appear to move
  • Italian: animazione — causing images to appear to move
  • Japanese: アニメーション (animēshon) — causing images to appear to move
  • Japanese: アニメ — causing images to appear to move
  • Kazakh: анимация (animasiä) — causing images to appear to move
  • Kazakh: мультипликация (multiplikasiä) — causing images to appear to move
  • Korean: 애니메이션 (aenimeisyeon) — causing images to appear to move
  • Korean: 아니메 — causing images to appear to move
  • Northern Kurdish: anîmasyon — causing images to appear to move
  • Kyrgyz: анимация (animatsiya) — causing images to appear to move
  • Kyrgyz: мультипликация (multiplikatsiya) — causing images to appear to move
  • Latvian: animācija — causing images to appear to move
  • Latvian: multiplikācija — causing images to appear to move
  • Lithuanian: animacija — causing images to appear to move
  • Lithuanian: multiplikacija — causing images to appear to move
  • Macedonian: анимација (animacija) — causing images to appear to move
  • Malay: animasi — causing images to appear to move
  • Malay: dalangan — causing images to appear to move
  • Māori: hākoritanga — causing images to appear to move
  • Norwegian Bokmål: animasjon — causing images to appear to move
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: animasjon — causing images to appear to move
  • Iranian Persian: اَنیمِیْشِن (animeyšen) — causing images to appear to move
  • Iranian Persian: پویانَمایی (puyânamâyi) — causing images to appear to move
  • Polish: animacja — causing images to appear to move
  • Portuguese: animação — causing images to appear to move
  • Romanian: animație — causing images to appear to move
  • Russian: анима́ция (animácija) — causing images to appear to move
  • Russian: мультиплика́ция (mulʹtiplikácija) — causing images to appear to move
  • Scottish Gaelic: beothachadh — causing images to appear to move
  • Serbo-Croatian: анима́ција — causing images to appear to move
  • Serbo-Croatian: animácija — causing images to appear to move
  • Sinhalese: සජීවිකරණය (sajīwikaraṇaya) — causing images to appear to move
  • Slovak: animácia — causing images to appear to move
  • Slovene: animacija — causing images to appear to move
  • Spanish: animación — causing images to appear to move
  • Swahili: uhaishaji — causing images to appear to move
  • Swedish: animation — causing images to appear to move
  • Tajik: аниматсия (animatsiya) — causing images to appear to move
  • Tajik: мултипликатсия (multiplikatsiya) — causing images to appear to move
  • Tajik: пӯёнамоӣ (püyonamoyi) — causing images to appear to move
  • Thai: แอนิเมชัน (ɛɛ-ní-mee-chân) — causing images to appear to move
  • Turkish: animasyon — causing images to appear to move
  • Turkmen: animasiýa — causing images to appear to move
  • Turkmen: multiplikasiýa — causing images to appear to move
  • Ukrainian: аніма́ція (animácija) — causing images to appear to move
  • Ukrainian: мультипліка́ція (mulʹtyplikácija) — causing images to appear to move
  • Urdu: اینی میشَن (enī meśan) — causing images to appear to move
  • Uzbek: animatsiya — causing images to appear to move
  • Uzbek: multiplikatsiya — causing images to appear to move
  • Vietnamese: hoạt hình — causing images to appear to move
  • Vietnamese: hoạt họa — causing images to appear to move
  • Welsh: animeiddio — causing images to appear to move
  • Welsh: animeddiad — causing images to appear to move
Real reading context

animation in complete knowledge articles