First recorded in 1985–90; from Japanese, borrowing of English animation ( def. )
How does anime compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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The adult-targeted block played a major role in mainstreaming anime, launched live-action comedy performers like Eric Andre, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, and resurrected old cartoon characters and titles with an absurdist twist.
From Salon • May 8, 2026
After decades on the fringes of pop culture in the West, anime has become one of Hollywood’s hottest businesses.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
As with Champagne from France, purists say anime can only come from Japan.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
In early 2025 on BlueSky, coldForce chose an avatar plucked from the anime series “Gintama”: the heroine Kagura in her berserk state, insane with rage.
From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2026
She looks like she was plucked right out of an anime, starring an Afro Korean swordswoman.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
