Synonyms of animate

animate 1 of 2

verb

ˈa-nə-ˌmāt 

as in to stimulate

to give life, vigor, or spirit to

Mr. Clark animates history for his sixth graders by frequently showing up for class dressed like some famous historical figure

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stimulate
• arouse
• enliven
• stir
• vivify
• activate
• energize
• electrify
• provoke
• vitalize
• invigorate
• awaken
• inspire
• quicken
• excite
• recreate
• revive
• jazz (up)
• motivate
• trigger
• drive
• cheer
• lift
• propel
• spike
• fire
• zip (up)
• brace
• motive
• rouse
• amp (up)
• spark
• strengthen
• raise
• awake
• liven (up)
• jump-start
• move
• pep (up)
• rally
• charge
• juice up
• actuate
• boost
• fillip
• resurrect
• ginger (up)
• refresh
• impel
• renew
• wake (up)
• galvanize
• set off
• reanimate
• infuse
• incite
• regenerate
• buoy
• ferment
• foment
• instigate
• inflame
• whip (up)
• steel
• fortify
• turn on
• kindle
• embolden
• hearten
• reactivate
• enkindle
• revitalize
• resuscitate
• abet
• reinvigorate
• reawaken
• enflame
• rekindle
• rejuvenate
• recharge
• restimulate
• reenergize
• refreshen
• reawake

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• kill
• dull
• dampen
• undermine
• deaden
• damp
• wear
• harass
• weaken
• drain
• wear out
• burn out
• restrain
• wash out
• weary
• exhaust
• check
• knock out
• debilitate
• suppress
• slow
• inhibit
• enfeeble
• sap
• repress
• curb
• fatigue
• do in
• enervate
• quench
• quell
• stunt
• still
• discourage
• tucker (out)
• fag
• demoralize
• dishearten
• daunt
• jade
• kayo
• dispirit

animate

2 of 2

adjective

ˈa-nə-mət 

1

as in animated

having much high-spirited energy and movement

an animate dance routine that will really get the blood pumping

Synonyms & Similar Words

• animated
• lively
• energetic
• active
• brisk
• bouncing
• awake
• kinetic
• cheerful
• gay
• enthusiastic
• playful
• spirited
• vital
• sprightly
• perky
• jaunty
• springy
• racy
• mettlesome
• spanking
• jazzy
• peppy
• pert
• frisky
• vivacious
• on the go
• sparky
• zippy
• up
• airy
• eager
• snappy
• agile
• bright
• pizazzy
• pizzazzy
• dashing
• dapper
• spiffy
• alert
• buoyant
• nimble
• spry
• effervescent
• wide-awake
• sparkly
• nervous
• keen
• chipper
• agog
• upbeat
• bubbly
• chirpy
• impish
• exuberant
• open-eyed
• frolicsome
• ebullient
• boisterous
• pixieish
• chirrupy
• skittish
• high-spirited
• high-strung

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• inanimate
• dead
• lifeless
• inactive
• limp
• languid
• listless
• leaden
• lazy
• inert
• indolent
• weary
• tired
• sluggish
• vapid
• sleepy
• spiritless
• languishing
• languorous
• lethargic
• lackadaisical
• impassive
• apathetic
• stolid
• tedious
• boring
• dull
• torpid
• unambitious
• irksome
• phlegmatic

2

as in breathing

having or showing life

had a dream about a sandwich that becomes animate

Synonyms & Similar Words

• breathing
• alive
• live
• animated
• living
• active
• dynamic
• quick
• lively
• existing
• vibrant
• surviving
• current
• existent
• thriving
• extant
• vigorous
• going
• vital
• prevailing
• vivacious
• resurrected

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• inanimate
• deceased
• dead
• cold
• lifeless
• departed
• expired
• dying
• nonliving
• breathless
• defunct
• moribund
• asleep
• fading
• resting
• stillborn
• ghostly
• absent
• gone
• ghostlike
• terminated
• extinct
• vanished
• finished
• wiped out
• nonexistent
• lost
• fallen
• barren
• lapsed
• reposing
• desert
• zombielike
• ghosty
• perished

Synonym Chooser

How is the word animate distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of animate are enliven, quicken, and vivify. While all these words mean "to make alive or lively," animate emphasizes the imparting of motion or vitality to what is or might be mechanical or artificial.

happiness animated his conversation

When would enliven be a good substitute for animate?

Although the words enliven and animate have much in common, enliven suggests a stimulus that arouses from dullness or torpidity.

enlivened her lectures with humorous anecdotes

In what contexts can quicken take the place of animate?

The words quicken and animate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, quicken stresses a sudden renewal of life or activity especially in something inert.

the arrival of spring quickens the earth

When is vivify a more appropriate choice than animate?

While the synonyms vivify and animate are close in meaning, vivify implies a freshening or energizing through renewal of vitality.

new blood needed to vivify the dying club

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of animate

Verb

The market’s message and intentions are always worth debating — especially so during an intense pullback, with cacophonous policy headlines and piqued investor emotions animating the action day to day. —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 8 Mar. 2025

Live Events and Special Presentations A CONVERSATION WITH JOE HILL Beloved bestselling horror author Joe Hill (King Sorrow) checks in to the Overlook for a wide-ranging career conversation to discuss the methods behind the madness which animate his exquisite body of work. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Mar. 2025

Adjective

Does Humanity weep at these painful separations from everything, animate and inanimate, with which the young heart has become entwined? —Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 27 Sep. 2024

The same themes animate Cusk’s nonfiction from this period. —Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 28 June 2024