plural animations
Synonyms of animation
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.
Audiovisual from Spain, ICEX Spain Trade & Investment’s umbrella brand, will bring some 50 companies and institutions to Mipcom this year, showcasing the breadth of the country’s film, TV, animation and production industries. — Emiliano De Pablos, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026 Creative Freaks, an international animation and background art studio founded in July 2014 and headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, is leading production. — Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2026 Ellison and his team must braid together two huge film studios (housing nine film labels), four streaming services, three TV production studios, three animation units and more than 50 television networks, including two prominent news organizations. — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 The song was written for Wildwood, the upcoming stop motion fantasy from animation studio LAIKA based on frontman Colin Meloy’s best-selling novel. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 9 Oct. 2026 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Animation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animation. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!