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

The game, of course, improves on several of Madden 24's missteps, notably a new presentation in the menus, and the addition of BOOM Tech a game features that promises a revolving cast of new animations when players collide on-field. —Carlos Mejia, PCMAG, 11 Nov. 2024

Reason for Ranking: Not only is the script solid, the animation is perfect. —Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024

The company's co-founder, Nikola Todorovic, believes this approach could reshape animation by making high-quality visual effects more accessible and flexible. —Charlie Fink, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

While the film is live-action, key animation will be designed by Academy Award-winning visual effects house Wētā FX. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing animation

• suspended animation
• with animation

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