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

• briskness
• exuberance
• jazziness
• liveliness
• lustiness
• peppiness
• robustness
• sprightliness
• vibrance
• vibrancy
• vigorousness
• vitality

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

Wait for an animation on your new device and hold your current device over the new device to center the animation in the camera viewfinder. —Simon Hill, WIRED, 12 Mar. 2025

Sony Yay! has partnered with Toonz Media Group, one of India’s leading animation studios, for production. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Mar. 2025

Pam Goldman, the director of animation and a talent agent at Buchwald agency (who represents Newbon), pinpoints the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic as a major turning point when most Hollywood studios, TV networks, and productions halted live-action projects worldwide. —EW.com, 12 Mar. 2025

Watch this animation below for an overview of the procedure. —New Atlas, 11 Mar. 2025

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