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animate

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adjective

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word animate distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of animate are enliven, quicken, and vivify. While all these words mean "to make alive or lively," animate emphasizes the imparting of motion or vitality to what is or might be mechanical or artificial.

happiness animated his conversation

When would enliven be a good substitute for animate?

Although the words enliven and animate have much in common, enliven suggests a stimulus that arouses from dullness or torpidity.

enlivened her lectures with humorous anecdotes

In what contexts can quicken take the place of animate?

The words quicken and animate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, quicken stresses a sudden renewal of life or activity especially in something inert.

the arrival of spring quickens the earth

When is vivify a more appropriate choice than animate?

While the synonyms vivify and animate are close in meaning, vivify implies a freshening or energizing through renewal of vitality.

new blood needed to vivify the dying club

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of animate
Verb
The clash of zealotry and conciliation, the question of how best to do the right thing, animates the O’Dwyer story in ways eerie and often striking. Dan Morrison, USA Today, 28 May 2025 As a result, there has never been a better moment to understand the ideas that animate these leaders’ particular vision of the future. John Kaag, The Atlantic, 28 May 2025
Adjective
Users do have creative freedom — freedom to learn to draw, animate, write, score, or direct their own projects. Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025 Charcuterie and cheese, potatoes and onions, meat and offal: These are the ingredients that animate Harris’s chalkboard menu, all old friends, treated with a grandmotherly mix of tenderness and brawn. Amiel Stanek, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for animate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for animate
Verb
  • The electrode stimulates the nerve, opening the airway by moving the tongue forward.1 Hypoglossal nerve stimulation surgery can effectively resolve snoring for some.
    Sukaina Hasnie, Verywell Health, 4 June 2025
  • Just like weight-bearing exercises, the vibrations stimulate osteocytes, which send signals to the two other types of bone cells–osteoblasts and osteoclasts–to create new bone matter and recycle the old.
    Jia H. Jung, Mercury News, 4 June 2025
Adjective
  • For all his success in the animated realm, DeBlois has never directed a live-action film until now.
    Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2025
  • The United Kingdom, for instance, offers a 25.5% tax rebate on 80% of a production’s expenditures in the UK, with higher rebates for animated and independent films.
    Ali Martin, Christian Science Monitor, 14 June 2025
Adjective
  • In one image, Turner was seen kissing the singer's head with his arm around her shoulders, while another showed the couple engaged in a lively chat while laying on the ground.
    Raven Brunner, People.com, 12 June 2025
  • The primary bedroom suite mirrors the lively palette of the living room, blending mustard, green, and cobalt in deeply tactile textiles.
    Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 12 June 2025
Adjective
  • But Jude had been alive then and with them on the trip.
    Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 15 June 2025
  • The Tour remained silent, keeping speculation alive, until ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news amid golf's biggest event - the US Open.
    Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 June 2025
Adjective
  • Today, DeVos said that Eliana, now 3, is a happy and energetic toddler, and her scar is hardly noticeable.
    Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 6 June 2025
  • The latest victim who attempted friendship with one of these hungry giants ended up causing the most energetic explosion to ever occur in the universe.
    Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 5 June 2025
Adjective
  • Since the show's conclusion, Zoe has remained active in the fashion and lifestyle space, in part through her newsletter The Zoe Report, which launched in 2009.
    Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 7 June 2025
  • Flood watches were active through the morning across parts of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 6 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Animate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animate. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.

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