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Software Engineering vocabulary · Web, Mobile and Interface Development

Microinteraction

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

nounCommon term

In software engineering, microinteraction means: A small, single-purpose moment of interaction with its own feedback, such as liking a post, switching a toggle or a field shaking after a wrong password.

In Turkish: mikro etkileşim

How it is used

The term was made popular by Dan Saffer's book 'Microinteractions'. Designers use small animations and haptics to make these moments clear and pleasant, but too many moving details can feel distracting or slow.

Example sentences

  1. The heart animation when you like a photo is a classic microinteraction.

  2. Let's add a microinteraction so users see that the item went into the cart.

Common collocations

  • subtle microinteraction
  • design microinteractions
  • microinteraction animation
  • delightful details
  • feedbackThe signal a system gives in response to a user's action, such as a button changing colour, a loading spinner or a success message, so people know what happened.
  • interaction designThe part of design that decides how a product behaves when people use it: what happens when they tap, type, swipe or wait, and how the system responds.
  • toggleA switch that turns a setting on or off with one tap and usually takes effect immediately, like turning on dark mode or notifications.
  • hover stateThe way an element looks when the mouse pointer is over it, for example a button getting darker, which shows that it can be clicked.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Web, Mobile and Interface Development

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