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.)
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
The film has a great script, wonderful voice-overs, catchy songs and top notch animation.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Chakrit explains further that CEA was established six years ago, expanding the remit of the 20-year-old Thailand Creative & Design Centre, to oversee development of 15 industries – including film, series, animation, games, publishing, fashion, craft, visual arts, design and architecture.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2025
Pixar, the animation studio owned by Disney, had announced the film's theatrical return July 17.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
Last month, the TV Academy announced the first slate of winners in juried categories including animation, costume, emerging media programming and motion design.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for animation
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Chakrit explains further that CEA was established six years ago, expanding the remit of the 20-year-old Thailand Creative & Design Centre, to oversee development of 15 industries – including film, series, animation, games, publishing, fashion, craft, visual arts, design and architecture.
—Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2025
Pixar, the animation studio owned by Disney, had announced the film's theatrical return July 17.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
Last month, the TV Academy announced the first slate of winners in juried categories including animation, costume, emerging media programming and motion design.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for animation
Cite this Entry
“Animation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animation. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share