Word part · Latin root
Anim root words: meaning and 10 examples
In short
The Latin root anim (from Latin) means "life, or breath". Words with it include animals, animate, animated, animating, animation and animations. An animation makes drawings seem alive.
- Part
- anim
- Meaning
- life, or breath
- Origin
- Latin
- Words listed
- 10
An animation makes drawings seem alive. Words that start with anim usually carry that sense of life or movement.
Words with the Latin root anim
The list runs from shorter, common words to longer ones. The bands are a rough guide built from syllable count and how common each word is in our word list, not a grade-level standard. Read each word, then its word sum.
Colors:prefixroot or basesuffix
Next: longer words (about grades 5 and 6)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| animals | anim (root or base)+al (suffix)+s (suffix)→animals | living things that breathe and move |
| animate | anim (root or base)+ate (suffix)→animate | make something seem alive |
| reanimate | re (prefix)+anim (root or base)+ate (suffix)→reanimate | bring back to life or movement |
Stretch: long or less common words (about grades 7 and 8)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| animated | anim (root or base)+ate (suffix)+ed (suffix)→animateddrop the e | made to move as if alive; full of life |
| animating | anim (root or base)+ate (suffix)+ing (suffix)→animatingdrop the e | making something seem alive, now |
| animation | anim (root or base)+ation (suffix)→animation | pictures made to move as if alive |
| animations | anim (root or base)+ation (suffix)+s (suffix)→animations | more than one animation |
| animator | anim (root or base)+ator (suffix)→animator | a person who makes drawings move |
| animators | anim (root or base)+ator (suffix)+s (suffix)→animators | more than one animator |
| inanimate | in (prefix)+anim (root or base)+ate (suffix)→inanimate | not alive |
Where does anim sit in a word?
A root can come first, last or in the middle. Students who only look at the start of a word miss half of these.
- At the start:
- animals, animate, animated, animating, animation, animations, animator, animators
- In the middle:
- inanimate, reanimate
How do you teach the root anim?
Most students already love animation, so start there. A cartoon is a drawing made to look alive, and anim means life or breath. Then show animal: a living thing that breathes. Inanimate is a good next word because the in- prefix flips it to not alive, which is handy in science when sorting living and nonliving things. Keep the list short. This root has fewer everyday words than most.
A quick routine
Hold up a pencil and a picture of a dog. Say, "Which one is animate, alive and moving? Which one is inanimate?" Write both words and box anim. Then write animator and ask, "If anim means life, what does an animator do?" Let the student answer in their own words before you show the sum anim + ator. Close by having the student sort five pictures into animate and inanimate.
What do students mix up with anim?
The tricky part here is the ending, not the root. Animate is said two ways: as a verb (AN-ih-mate, to bring to life) and as a describing word (AN-ih-mit, alive), and students may hear them as different words. Some students also think animals and animation have nothing in common. Pointing out the shared life meaning usually lands quickly.
Some of these words change spelling where the parts join. The spelling rules pages cover dropping e, doubling and changing y to i. For the sounds inside these words, see the phonics word lists. Routines that fit: meanings of prefixes and suffixes, circle the parts, read the base and flexible routine for big words.
Questions people ask
What does the root anim mean?
Anim means "life, or breath". It is a Latin root. An animation makes drawings seem alive. Words that start with anim usually carry that sense of life or movement.
What are some words with the root anim?
Start with animals, animate and reanimate. Then move to animated and animating. This page lists 10 words in all, most with a word sum that shows the parts.
Is animal really from the same root as animation?
Yes. Both come from the Latin word for breath or life. An animal is a creature that breathes, and an animation makes pictures seem to breathe and move.
Related word parts
- vivlive, or life
- biolife
- in-not
- -tionthe act of, or the result of
- -ateto make or act on; or having
- -ora person or thing that does something
Terms on this page: morpheme, root, prefix, suffix, base word, word sum, morphology.
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