animate
1 of 2adjective
an·i·mate ˈa-nə-mət 
1
: possessing or characterized by life : alive
2
: full of life : animated
3
: of or relating to animal life as opposed to plant life
4
: referring to a living thing
an animate noun
animately adverb
animateness noun
animate
2 of 2verb
an·i·mate ˈa-nə-ˌmāt
animated; animating
transitive verb
1
: to give spirit and support to : encourage
2
a
: to give life to
b
: to give vigor and zest to
3
: to move to action
a criminal animated by greed
4
a
: to make or design in such a way as to create apparently spontaneous lifelike movement
animate a cartoon
b
: to produce in the form of an animated cartoon
animate a story
Did you know?
The Latin word anima meaning “breath, soul” that gave us “animal” has given us other words. The English adjective animate meaning “alive” comes from the Latin verb animare, meaning “to give life to,” which in turn came from anima. A characteristic of animals is their ability to move. When a cartoon is drawn and filmed in such a way that lifelike movement is produced, it is animated. An animated film seems to have a life of its own.
Synonyms
Adjective
- active
- airy
- animated
- bouncing
- brisk
- energetic
- frisky
- gay
- jaunty
- jazzy
- kinetic
- lively
- mettlesome
- peppy
- perky
- pert
- pizzazzy
- pizazzy
- racy
- snappy
- spanking
- sparky
- spirited
- sprightly
- springy
- vital
- vivacious
- zippy
Verb
- amp (up)
- brace
- energize
- enliven
- fillip
- fire
- ginger (up)
- invigorate
- jazz (up)
- juice up
- jump-start
- liven (up)
- pep (up)
- quicken
- spike
- stimulate
- vitalize
- vivify
- zip (up)
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Adjective The lecture was about ancient worship of animate and inanimate objects. an animate dance routine that will really get the blood pumping Verb The writer's humor animates the novel. The film's very realistic dinosaurs were animated on computers.
Recent Examples on the Web
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 21 June 2022 Science is a process, not an animate object that speaks. Michael Lynch, Forbes, 26 Apr. 2022 Creativity, making, and imagining animate Black self-determination with that which only culture can provide. ELLE, 31 Mar. 2022 Drawing animate objects was forbidden, as on the day of judgment, God would ask me to put life in them. Liam Hess, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2022 At one point, Atung abruptly drops out of the show, eliminating its only source of interpersonal intrigue and allowing Afong to complete her transformation into an animate textbook. Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2022 This time the town is not empty but crowded with animate memories. Andrew Delbanco, The New York Review of Books, 19 Nov. 2020 Ethics begins by recognizing that entities of this Earth are both material and animate. Kathleen Dean Moore, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2021 This time the town is not empty but crowded with animate memories. Andrew Delbanco, The New York Review of Books, 19 Nov. 2020 Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2022 The same problems plaguing L.A. — from homelessness to street racing — now animate my neighbors’ conversations. Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2022 In part, this is a convention of the series, since everyone must live to animate another book. David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2022 The brothers, working with their two sisters, Anna and Maria, came up with a way of breaking down the animation workflow into tiny bits to animate half an hour of TV in just a few days. Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 The kind of people who animate our communities, enrich them with color and spice and energy, and make our municipal sidewalks spring to life. Thomas Farragher, BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2022 Bennett embodies many of the contradictions that animate his small country. Joseph Krauss, ajc, 29 June 2022 The larger field includes a host of ideas that continue to animate other abstract painters: Is there a focus to the image or are its events evenly distributed? Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 May 2022 Just months before the midterm elections, immigration policy will likely continue to animate political mud-slinging. Jasmine Aguilera, Time, 27 Apr. 2022 See More
Adjective
As such, they should be treated as ‘animate tools,’ instruments rather than ends. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 21 June 2022 Science is a process, not an animate object that speaks. Michael Lynch, Forbes, 26 Apr. 2022 Creativity, making, and imagining animate Black self-determination with that which only culture can provide. ELLE, 31 Mar. 2022 Drawing animate objects was forbidden, as on the day of judgment, God would ask me to put life in them. Liam Hess, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2022 At one point, Atung abruptly drops out of the show, eliminating its only source of interpersonal intrigue and allowing Afong to complete her transformation into an animate textbook. Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2022 This time the town is not empty but crowded with animate memories. Andrew Delbanco, The New York Review of Books, 19 Nov. 2020 Ethics begins by recognizing that entities of this Earth are both material and animate. Kathleen Dean Moore, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2021 This time the town is not empty but crowded with animate memories. Andrew Delbanco, The New York Review of Books, 19 Nov. 2020 Verb
His work addressed the same questions that animate Black artists today, including Deana Lawson, Rashid Johnson, Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé. Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2022 The same problems plaguing L.A. — from homelessness to street racing — now animate my neighbors’ conversations. Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2022 In part, this is a convention of the series, since everyone must live to animate another book. David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2022 The brothers, working with their two sisters, Anna and Maria, came up with a way of breaking down the animation workflow into tiny bits to animate half an hour of TV in just a few days. Nathan Heller, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 The kind of people who animate our communities, enrich them with color and spice and energy, and make our municipal sidewalks spring to life. Thomas Farragher, BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2022 Bennett embodies many of the contradictions that animate his small country. Joseph Krauss, ajc, 29 June 2022 The larger field includes a host of ideas that continue to animate other abstract painters: Is there a focus to the image or are its events evenly distributed? Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 May 2022 Just months before the midterm elections, immigration policy will likely continue to animate political mud-slinging. Jasmine Aguilera, Time, 27 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Adjective and Verb
Middle English, from Latin animatus, past participle of animare to give life to, from anima breath, soul; akin to Old English ōthian to breathe, Latin animus spirit, Greek anemos wind, Sanskrit aniti he breathes
First Known Use
Adjective
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
animate 1 of 2
adjective
an·i·mate ˈa-nə-mət
: having life
animate
2 of 2verb
an·i·mate ˈa-nə-ˌmāt
animated; animating
1
: to give life or energy to : make alive or lively
He was surprised at the eagerness which animated the whole team … Jack London, The Call of the Wild
Jack London, The Call of the Wild2
: to make appear to move
animate a cartoon
Medical Definition
animate
adjective
an·i·mate ˈan-ə-mət
1
: possessing or characterized by life
2
: of or relating to animal life as opposed to plant life
animate 1 of 2
verb
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
Relevance
- stimulate
- enliven
- vivify
- arouse
- activate
- energize
- electrify
- vitalize
- invigorate
- stir
- provoke
- inspire
- awaken
- recreate
- quicken
- revive
- excite
- motivate
- fire
- propel
- trigger
- lift
- spike
- drive
- cheer
- spark
- rouse
- brace
- move
- fillip
- motive
- raise
- strengthen
- awake
- actuate
- charge
- jump-start
- juice up
- rally
- resurrect
- pep (up)
- boost
- jazz (up)
- impel
- reanimate
- refresh
- zip (up)
- galvanize
- amp (up)
- renew
- infuse
- enkindle
- incite
- liven (up)
- buoy
- ginger (up)
- set off
- regenerate
- ferment
- instigate
- foment
- inflame
- embolden
- hearten
- resuscitate
- fortify
- steel
- abet
- reactivate
- revitalize
- reinvigorate
- reawaken
- kindle
- turn on
- rekindle
- rejuvenate
- enflame
- recharge
- reenergize
- wake (up)
- whip (up)
- refreshen
- restimulate
- reawake
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- kill
- dull
- dampen
- undermine
- deaden
- harass
- wear
- damp
- weaken
- restrain
- drain
- enervate
- debilitate
- wear out
- weary
- knock out
- exhaust
- suppress
- enfeeble
- check
- wash out
- inhibit
- slow
- repress
- sap
- tucker (out)
- curb
- fatigue
- stunt
- quench
- still
- quell
- burn out
- discourage
- jade
- dishearten
- demoralize
- fag
- daunt
- kayo
- dispirit
- do in
animate
2 of 2adjective
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
- bouncing
- brisk
- awake
- kinetic
- cheerful
- playful
- gay
- spirited
- enthusiastic
- mettlesome
- vital
- perky
- springy
- sprightly
- jaunty
- racy
- sparky
- spanking
- pert
- jazzy
- up
- peppy
- frisky
- zippy
- vivacious
- airy
- eager
- snappy
- agile
- pizazzy
- bright
- pizzazzy
- on the go
- dashing
- spiffy
- dapper
- spry
- buoyant
- nimble
- alert
- effervescent
- chipper
- sparkly
- agog
- keen
- bubbly
- upbeat
- chirpy
- nervous
- impish
- frolicsome
- open-eyed
- exuberant
- ebullient
- pixieish
- boisterous
- chirrupy
- wide-awake
- skittish
- high-spirited
- high-strung
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- inanimate
- dead
- lifeless
- limp
- inactive
- languid
- listless
- leaden
- spiritless
- languishing
- vapid
- lazy
- inert
- lackadaisical
- indolent
- sluggish
- weary
- tired
- torpid
- lethargic
- unambitious
- sleepy
- languorous
- impassive
- phlegmatic
- stolid
- apathetic
- boring
- tedious
- dull
- irksome
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
- existing
- lively
- going
- quick
- surviving
- current
- existent
- extant
- vibrant
- vigorous
- prevailing
- thriving
- vital
- resurrected
- vivacious
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- inanimate
- dead
- deceased
- cold
- lifeless
- dying
- nonliving
- departed
- expired
- breathless
- defunct
- moribund
- fading
- asleep
- ghostly
- resting
- absent
- stillborn
- ghostlike
- gone
- terminated
- extinct
- vanished
- finished
- nonexistent
- lost
- fallen
- barren
- reposing
- lapsed
- zombielike
- desert
- ghosty
- wiped out
- perished
Synonym Chooser
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
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
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
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
- play no part in
- play off against
- play on
- play on or upon
- play on words
- play one's cards
- play one's cards close to one's chest/vest
- play one's cards close to the chest/vest
- play one's cards right
- play out
- play politics
- play possum
- play school
- play second fiddle
- play smart
- play someone or something off against someone or something
- play something close to one's chest
- play something close to the vest
- play straight
- play structure
- play the clown
- play the field
- play the fool
- play the game
- play the gender card