animation
noun
an·i·ma·tion
ˌa-nə-ˈmā-shən 
plural animations
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
Paul ToughThe work, titled Bigger Christmas Trees, was created on an iPad and features ten minutes of animation.—Julia Binswanger
Julia BinswangerAnd as the animation above shows, this tilt causes the Moon's shadow to miss the Earth.—Tom Yulsman
Tom Yulsman3
: the preparation of animation (as for animated cartoons, video games, commercials, etc.)
Synonyms
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
In the early 1980s, the company had lost its primacy in the film and animation markets, churning out forgettable features like The Fox and the Hound and Pete’s Dragon.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2024
Foakes is an experienced VFX and animation exec of over 15 years.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 1 Oct. 2024
Most of the time, the Zeta Gundam just gets completely redesigned, so to have it this faithful to the original styling from the animation is just amazing.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
By Matteo Wong For years now, generative AI has been used to conjure all sorts of realities—dazzling paintings and startling animations of worlds and people, both real and imagined.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for animation 
Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2024
Foakes is an experienced VFX and animation exec of over 15 years.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 1 Oct. 2024
Most of the time, the Zeta Gundam just gets completely redesigned, so to have it this faithful to the original styling from the animation is just amazing.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
By Matteo Wong For years now, generative AI has been used to conjure all sorts of realities—dazzling paintings and startling animations of worlds and people, both real and imagined.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for animation
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'animation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Animation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animation. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
animation
noun
an·i·ma·tion
ˌan-ə-ˈmā-shən
1
: the state of being animate or animated
2
a
: a film made by photographing a series of positions of objects (as puppets)
b
3
: the making of animations
Medical Definition
animation
noun
an·i·ma·tion
ˌan-ə-ˈmā-shən
: the state of being animate or animated see suspended animation
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