Definitions of animate:

• verb:   give new life or energy to
• verb:   heighten or intensify
• verb:   give life-like qualities to

  Example: "Animated cartoons"

• verb:   make lively
• adjective:   endowed with animal life as distinguished from plant life

  Example: "We are animate beings"

• adjective:   belonging to the class of nouns that denote living beings

  Example: "The word `dog' is animate"

• adjective:   endowed with feeling and unstructured consciousness