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
Perhaps more impressive than the fresh story, though, is the gorgeous animation.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 6 Apr. 2026
As executive producer Athena Yvette Portillo, a veteran of Lucasfilm animation, explained, the serialization meant the team had to pay extra attention to consistency.
—Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire, 6 Apr. 2026
This also marks the second-biggest domestic launch of all time for Illumination, the animation empire founded by Chris Meledandri.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 5 Apr. 2026
But the animation, by Illumination Entertainment, is remarkably beautiful, the world and characters both true to the 8-bit source material and deeply cinematic.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for animation
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Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 6 Apr. 2026
As executive producer Athena Yvette Portillo, a veteran of Lucasfilm animation, explained, the serialization meant the team had to pay extra attention to consistency.
—Rafael Motamayor, IndieWire, 6 Apr. 2026
This also marks the second-biggest domestic launch of all time for Illumination, the animation empire founded by Chris Meledandri.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 5 Apr. 2026
But the animation, by Illumination Entertainment, is remarkably beautiful, the world and characters both true to the 8-bit source material and deeply cinematic.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for animation
Cite this Entry
“Animation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/animation. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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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