animated
Americanadjective
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full of life, action, or spirit; lively; vigorous.
an animated debate on the death penalty.
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made or equipped to move or give the appearance of moving in an animallike fashion.
animated puppets.
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containing representations of animals or mechanical objects that appear to move as real ones do.
an animated window display.
adjective
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full of vivacity and spirit; lively
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characterized by movement and activity
an animated scene met her eye
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possessing life; animate
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moving or appearing to move as if alive
an animated display
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pertaining to cinematographic animation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of animated
Explanation
Something that seems full of life and movement is said to be animated. Animated films for television and movies include cartoons, Claymation, puppets, and computer-generated images, which are all simulations of living things. The Latin animāre "give breath to" is the basis for the word animated. The business of animated films has grown with the advent of computers, but the idea of animating something began long before cartoons and CGI. In Mary Shelley's classic 19th-century novel "Frankenstein," the monster, built of dead parts, is animated by electrical impulses, an idea that "sparked" a fascination with regeneration that survives to this very day.
Vocabulary lists containing animated
Speak Your Mind: Anim
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Esperanza Rising
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Vocabulary from "Community is the 'killer app' missing from virtual reality" by Dmitri Williams
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, after he made a music video for a friend, then won a competition, he found himself in demand to make animated lyric videos for the likes of James Blunt and Sir Elton John.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Universal and Nintendo’s animated adaptation is the latest in a string of hit family films.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Rotta the Hutt, meanwhile, is introduced as an infant in the animated 2008 movie “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
Netflix said that its toy business has grown “significantly” over the last year, with lines based off of the television show Stranger Things and the animated film KPop Demon Hunters.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
He turned and stared at Annie, her face animated as she spoke.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
