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View synonyms for animate

animate

[ verb an-uh-meyt; adjective an-uh-mit ]

verb (used with object)

, an·i·mat·ed, an·i·mat·ing.
  1. to give life to; make alive:

    God animated the dust.

    Synonyms: vitalize, quicken, vivify

    Antonyms: kill

  2. to make lively, vivacious, or vigorous; give zest or spirit to:

    Her presence animated the party.

    Synonyms: fortify, energize

  3. to fill with courage or boldness; encourage:

    to animate weary troops.

    Synonyms: exhilarate, arouse, hearten, inspirit, inspire

  4. to move or stir to action; motivate:

    He was animated by religious zeal.

    Synonyms: prompt, kindle, urge, fire, incite, excite

  5. to give motion to:

    leaves animated by a breeze.

  6. to render or produce (a story, character, movie, etc.) by using animation: to animate the characters in a video game;

    to animate a children's story;

    to animate the characters in a video game;

    an animated film.



adjective

  1. alive; possessing life:

    animate creatures.

    Antonyms: dead

  2. lively:

    an animate expression of joy.

  3. of or relating to animal life.
  4. able to move voluntarily.
  5. Linguistics. belonging to a syntactic category or having a semantic feature that is characteristic of words denoting beings regarded as having perception and volition ( inanimate ).

animate

verb

  1. to give life to or cause to come alive
  2. to make lively; enliven
  3. to encourage or inspire
  4. to impart motion to; move to action or work
  5. to record on film or video tape so as to give movement to

    an animated cartoon



adjective

  1. being alive or having life
  2. gay, spirited, or lively

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Other Words From

  • ani·mate·ly adverb
  • ani·mate·ness noun
  • ani·mating·ly adverb
  • inter·ani·mate verb (used with object) interanimated interanimating
  • non·ani·mate adjective
  • non·ani·mating adjective
  • non·ani·mating·ly adverb
  • semi·ani·mate adjective
  • un·ani·mating adjective
  • un·ani·mating·ly adverb

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Word History and Origins

Origin of animate1

1375–1425; late Middle English animat < Latin animātus filled with breath or air, quickened, animated (past participle of animāre ). See anima, -ate 1

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Word History and Origins

Origin of animate1

C16: from Latin animāre to fill with breath, make alive, from anima breath, spirit

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Synonym Study

Animate, invigorate, stimulate mean to enliven. To animate is to create a liveliness: Health and energy animated his movements. To invigorate means to give physical vigor, to refresh, to exhilarate: Mountain air invigorates. To stimulate is to arouse a latent liveliness on a particular occasion: Caffeine will stimulate you and keep you alert.

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Example Sentences

It is the economic questions—about the gap between rich and poor—that animate the party now.

Once, the humanist idea used to animate the very core of the university.

Investors clearly believe in the value of patents and the inventions they animate.

His fingers were rubbing back and forth on the photo, as if he was trying to animate his baby back to life.

I admire his vision in his domestic affairs and the deeply Jewish values that seem to animate him.

The birds, moreover, were singing merrily, and all Nature seemed animate and gay.

That which would have disheartened and disarmed other men, seemed only to animate him with all Macbeth's wild courage of despair.

A new spirit would animate the community, from which we might hope the most happy results.

But it was enough for that white-clad figure to stand revealed in the thickest of the carnage to animate the men to heroic effort.

Hear from the grave, great Taliessin, hearThey breathe a soul to animate thy clay.

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gallimaufry

[gal-uh-maw-free ]

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animal starchanimated