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Origin-aware animation: An element animates out of its trigger, like a popover growing from the button that opened it instead of from its own center which is the default in CSS.
- Related: Transform origin is the anchor point a scale or rotation grows or spins from. It's the CSS property that makes this work.
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Rubber-banding: Resistance and snap-back when you drag past a boundary (the iOS overscroll feel).
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Number ticker: Digits rolling or counting up to a value.
- Pair it with Tabular numbers, which are fixed-width digits so numbers don't shift around as they change. They're essential for tickers, timers, and counters.
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Skeleton / Shimmer: A placeholder with a moving sheen shown while content loads.
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Parallax: Background and foreground move at different speeds while scrolling, creating depth.
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Momentum: Motion that carries velocity, especially after a drag or interruption.
- Related: Velocity is how fast and in which direction an element is moving. A spring carries it into the next animation when interrupted, so a flicked element keeps its speed.
- Related: Drag is moving an element by grabbing it, often with momentum when released.
Test run: six loose descriptions of motion effects. Each returned the glossary term, with related terms where they apply. Short run; the glossary is a fixed list, so effects outside it get an approximation.
What it does
A reverse-lookup glossary for web animation. You describe what you see or feel ("springy", "slides off", "draws itself in") and it returns the matching term with its definition, best match first, plus one or two close alternates and how they differ (for example Clip-path versus Mask, or Pop in versus Bounce). It quotes the glossary as written, says plainly when nothing fits exactly and stays inside its own list instead of inventing words. The glossary covers entrances and exits, sequencing, transforms, transitions between states, scroll, feedback, easing, springs, looping motion, polish effects, performance and animation principles.
Output
The term, a one-line definition and, where useful, the closest alternates.
Good for
Developers, designers and writers who know the effect they want but not its name, and want the right word to ask a designer or an AI for it.
Low risk: pure instructions with no scripts, no network access and no file writes. It is a fixed glossary, so an effect that is not in the list gets an approximation or a plain statement that the term is missing. Test-run once with six loose descriptions: each returned a glossary term, with related terms where they apply. When invoked with no question it replies only with a greeting. By Emil Kowalski, MIT.