What does anima mean?
Anima means 'soul' or 'breath of life' in its original Latin sense, but today it is best known through the psychology of Carl Gustav Jung, who used it to describe the feminine dimension of a man's unconscious mind. According to Jung, every man carries within him an inner female figure — the anima — which appears in dreams, shapes his emotional responses, and is often projected onto the women he encounters. Coming to terms with this figure, Jung argued, is a central task of psychological development. The word's counterpart, animus, names the corresponding masculine element in a woman's psyche. Outside psychology, 'anima' retains an older meaning drawn from classical philosophy, where it denoted the vital principle distinguishing the living from the dead. Because of these layered meanings, the word carries a rich, somewhat mystical connotation and appears mainly in academic writing, depth psychology, literature, and discussions of mythology rather than in everyday speech.
nounIn Jungian psychology, the anima is the feminine aspect of a man's unconscious psyche, personified in dreams and fantasies as female figures. In classical philosophy, 'anima' also denotes the soul or vital principle of living beings.
- In Jungian psychology: the feminine component of a man's unconscious, often projected onto women or appearing as female figures in dreams.
- In classical and older usage: the soul, spirit, or vital principle that animates a living body.
"Jung believed that integrating the anima was essential to a man's psychological wholeness."
"Through dream analysis, he gradually came to recognize the anima figures that had shaped his emotional life."
"Aristotle located the anima — the principle of life — in all living things, from plants to humans."
The standard plural follows regular English rules for nouns ending in -a, adding -s rather than the Latin-style -ae.
"Different cultures have imagined the animas of the dead lingering near their former homes."
The Latin word for breath and soul — 'anima' — still lives on inside modern psychology as the name of the hidden feminine side of every man's mind.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of anima
Anima comes directly from Latin, where it meant breath, air, wind, and by extension the soul or life force — the invisible principle that makes a body alive. The Latin noun derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂enh₁-, which also produced Greek 'anemos' (wind) and related words such as 'animal' and 'animate' in English. The term entered English scholarship during the Renaissance revival of classical learning, and in the early twentieth century Carl Jung adopted it as a technical term for the feminine aspect of the male unconscious, giving it a second, distinct modern meaning.
How anima is actually used
Today 'anima' is used almost exclusively in Jungian psychology and related literary or cultural criticism; the classical sense of 'soul' survives mainly in academic, philosophical, or historical contexts. It is a scholarly term, not part of everyday conversation, and is typically discussed alongside its counterpart 'animus'.
Easily confused with anima
Animus is the masculine aspect of a woman's unconscious, whereas anima is the corresponding feminine aspect of a man's unconscious.
'Animal' refers to a living organism, while 'anima' refers to the soul or inner psychic principle.