animar

Senses

1. 1.

   to encourage, to cheer up

   to give someone courage, confidence, or hope; to make someone feel better

2. 2.

   to liven up, to animate

   to make something more lively, exciting, or energetic

3. 3.

   to feel encouraged, to cheer up

   reflexive: to gain courage or become more cheerful (animar-se)

Examples

• "Ela tentou animar o amigo depois da notícia ruim."

  She tried to cheer up her friend after the bad news.

• "A música animou a festa inteira."

  The music livened up the whole party.

• "Vamos, anime-se! Ainda temos chances de ganhar."

  Come on, cheer up! We still have a chance to win.

Usage

Common verb used in both transitive and reflexive forms. Often paired with prepositions: "animar alguém a fazer algo" (encourage someone to do something). The reflexive "animar-se" is very frequent in everyday speech to mean "to feel like doing something" or "to cheer up."