In a manner showing animation or life; with liveliness or spirit (archaic or poetic form).
From animate + -ly, an older formation where the adverb is derived directly from the adjective form. This represents an earlier stage of English adverb formation before 'animatedly' became standardized.
The existence of both 'animately' and 'animatedly' shows how English speakers naturally gravitated toward longer adverbs—'animatedly' sounds more natural to modern ears even though both come from the same root, illustrating how pronunciation and syllable preference shape language evolution.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.