Anime Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

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anime American [an-uh-mey] / ˈæn əˌmeɪ /

noun

Graphic Arts.

1. a genre of film and television animation created in or influenced by the traditional style of Japanese 2D animation and characterized by highly stylized, colorful art, fantastic settings, and mature themes.

animé 1 British / ˈænɪˌmeɪ, -mɪ /

noun

1. any of various resins, esp that obtained from the tropical American leguminous tree Hymenaea courbaril

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 animé 2 British / ˈænɪˌmeɪ /

adjective

1. music the French word for animato

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 anime 3 British / ˈænɪˌmeɪ /

noun

1. a type of Japanese animated film with themes and styles similar to manga comics

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of anime

First recorded in 1985–90; from Japanese, borrowing of English animation ( def. )

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How does anime compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• manga vs. anime

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Enid, an illustrator based in the Philippines, has also recast the show in anime, inspired by that feeling of "I want what they have" which first drew her to BL, she says.

From BBC

Japan is also investigating ByteDance for alleged copyright violations, after AI videos of popular anime characters went viral.

From BBC

Superflat, the movement he founded, blends traditional Japanese art with pop culture and anime.

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile the Japanese government has launched an investigation into the Chinese firm over potential copyright violations, after AI-generated videos of popular Japanese anime characters showed up on online.

From BBC

He has adopted the hat and flag of Luffy, the main character in the Japanese anime series One Piece, which has featured in recent youth protests in Asia.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.