noun
- Plural of animatist; people who believe that all things, including inanimate objects and natural phenomena, possess a spirit or life force.
Usage: philosophical/anthropological term; related to animism
Examples
- Some animatists believe that rivers and mountains have their own consciousness.
- The animatists in the study attributed spiritual qualities to natural objects.
- Early animatists developed complex belief systems around the living essence of nature.
- Anthropologists have documented how animatists view the world differently from materialists.