n. 1
The act of animating, or giving life or spirit.
[…] by the animation of the same soul quickening that whole frame.
n. 2
The state of being lively, brisk, or full of spirit and vigor; vivacity; spiritedness
He recited the story with great animation.
n. 3
The condition of being animate (alive or supernaturally seeming alive).
n. 4
A sequence of still drawings or inanimate objects displayed in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement in motion pictures or computer graphics; the object (film, computer game, etc.) produced

Related words

Word family: animalcule animalesque animalian animalish animalism animalivore animalivorous animalise
Phrases: suspended animation stop-go animation

Forms

or Animation?

Liveliness of imagination; gayety of heart; animation of countenance; vivacity of gesture or conversation.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

4 letters: life¹, fire², dash¹, brio²
5 letters: vigor², verve¹, ardor²
6 letters: living², energy³, spirit², warmth¹, vigour, mettle², ardour
7 letters: passion², cartoon², animacy
8 letters: activity⁴, vitality⁴, buoyancy³, alacrity⁴, vivacity, airiness
9 letters: existence³, actuation, aliveness, briskness
10 letters: enthusiasm⁵, quickening³, liveliness³
11 letters: earnestness³, promptitude, animateness, enlivenment
12 letters: exhilaration⁵, spiritedness⁴, invigoration, vitalization, vitalisation, vivification
13 letters: sprightliness

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (fire² = 2 syllables).