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.)

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Watch an animation of the tightly orbiting planets whirling around its host star. Jackie Wattles, CNN, 22 Mar. 2025 The reimagining, written by Erin Cressida Wilson, retains the essence of what made the 1937 animation a cultural touchstone but also sprinkles a smidge of fairy dust to revitalize the familiar story for a new generation — all without diverging too far from the original. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2025 Open to the public, the L.A. collection includes comedy, drama, entertainment, sports, news, public affairs, documentary, performing arts, reality, animation, and children’s and family programming. Peter White, Deadline, 21 Mar. 2025 The archive spans more than a century of programming, across the genres of comedy, drama, news, public affairs, performing arts, sports, reality, animation, documentary and more. Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for animation

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of animation was in 1597

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Cite this Entry

“Animation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animation. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

animation

noun
1
: the state of being animate or animated
2
a
: a film made by photographing a series of positions of objects (as puppets)
3
: the making of animations

Medical Definition

animation

noun
: the state of being animate or animated see suspended animation

More from Merriam-Webster on animation

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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