anime

American  

[an-uh-mey] / ˈæn əˌmeɪ /

noun

Graphic Arts.

1. a genre of film and television animation created in or influenced by the traditional style of Japanese 2D animation and characterized by highly stylized, colorful art, fantastic settings, and mature themes.

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animé ¹ British  

/ ˈænɪˌmeɪ, -mɪ /

noun

1. any of various resins, esp that obtained from the tropical American leguminous tree Hymenaea courbaril

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animé ² British  

/ ˈænɪˌmeɪ /

adjective

1. music the French word for animato

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anime ³ British  

/ ˈænɪˌmeɪ /

noun

1. a type of Japanese animated film with themes and styles similar to manga comics

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Etymology

Origin of anime

First recorded in 1985–90; from Japanese, borrowing of English animation ( def. )

Compare meaning

How does anime compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• manga vs. anime

Example Sentences

As Natalie stumbled blearily to the bathroom, she noticed a television, a case full of books, walls covered with posters of anime characters, and a bright orange kayak in the corner.

From Literature

“The mainstreaming of anime at the theatrical box office is a really significant part of what happened this year and a really good sign,” Rothman said.

From Los Angeles Times

A small robot wearing a bear hat threw punches and a blue-green robot, resembling an anime character, moved its head and arms.

From Los Angeles Times

He sees a similar situation in which the popularity of Japanese cartoons – anime – meets an audience for Japanese comics, manga.

From BBC

It’s a simple story, but “Scarlet,” an anime feature from Japan, both complicates and muddies the quest.

From The Wall Street Journal