What does animar in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word animar in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use animar in Spanish.

The word animar in Spanish means encourage, cheer up, liven up, bring yourself to do, cheer up, liven up, present, inspire, encourage to read, make your day, brighten your day, raise your spirits, lift your spirits. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word animar

encourage

verbo transitivo (dar ánimos)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Los hinchas animaron a los jugadores luego del partido.
The fans encouraged the players after the match.

cheer up

verbo transitivo (levantar el ánimo)

(phrasal verb, transitive, separable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, divisible--for example, "call off" [=cancel], "call the game off," "call off the game.")
Julia animó a su amigo con sus comentarios afectuosos.
Julia cheered her friend up with her nice comments.

liven up

verbo transitivo (hacer más divertido)

La fiesta se animó cuando pusieron música bailable.
ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. The teenagers livened up the party by adding vodka to the punch.

bring yourself to do

verbo pronominal (decidirse, atreverse)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
No se animaba a ir solo a pedir trabajo pero se armó de valor y dejó solicitudes de empleo en varias empresas.
She couldn't bring herself to go job hunting alone, but she gathered enough courage to leave an application with several companies.

cheer up, liven up

verbo pronominal (ponerse de buen humor)

(phrasal verb, transitive, separable: Verb with adverb(s) or preposition(s), having special meaning, divisible--for example, "call off" [=cancel], "call the game off," "call off the game.")
Estaba deprimido pero al llegar a la fiesta se animó.
He was feeling down but livened (or: cheered) up once he got to the party.

present

verbo transitivo (AmL (presenta un programa en TV)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Mi presentador favorito es el que anima el programa de esta noche.
My favorite host is the one who's presenting tonight's show.

inspire

verbo transitivo (impulsar)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Hay que animar a los clientes a que inviertan más en nuestra empresa.
We have to inspire customers to invest more in our company.

encourage to read

locución verbal (incitar a la lectura) (with a subject)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Los padres deben animar a leer a los niños tanto como los maestros.
Parents must encourage children to read just as teachers do.

make your day, brighten your day

locución verbal (alegrar la jornada)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Julián me despertó con el desayuno en la cama y me animó el día.
Julian woke me up with breakfast in bed and it made my day.

raise your spirits, lift your spirits

locución verbal (alegrar)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Nada como una charla con amigos para animar el espíritu.
There's nothing better than a good chinwag with friends to raise your spirits.

Let's learn Spanish

So now that you know more about the meaning of animar in Spanish, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in Spanish.

Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.