| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| animate |
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| SYLLABICATION: | an·i·mate |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   n  -m t |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: an·i·mat·ed, an·i·mat·ing, an·i·mates
1. To give life to; fill with life. 2. To impart interest or zest to; enliven: “The party was animated by all kinds of men and women” (René Dubos). 3. To fill with spirit, courage, or resolution; encourage. See synonyms at encourage. 4. To inspire to action; prompt. 5. To impart motion or activity to. 6. To make, design, or produce (a cartoon, for example) so as to create the illusion of motion. | | ADJECTIVE: | (n-m t)1. Possessing life; living. See synonyms at living. 2. Of or relating to animal life as distinct from plant life. 3. Belonging to the class of nouns that stand for living things: The word dog is animate; the word car is inanimate. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Latin animre, animt-, from anima, soul. See an- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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