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alive - 7 dictionary results

a⋅live

  [uh-lahyv]
Use alive in a Sentence
–adjective
1. having life; living; existing; not dead or lifeless.
2. living (used for emphasis): the proudest man alive.
3. in a state of action; in force or operation; active: to keep hope alive.
4. full of energy and spirit; lively: Grandmother's more alive than most of her contemporaries.
5. having the quality of life; vivid; vibrant: The room was alive with color.
6. Electricity. live 2 (def. 17).
—Idioms
7. alive to, alert or sensitive to; aware of: City planners are alive to the necessity of revitalizing deteriorating neighborhoods.
8. alive with, filled with living things; swarming; teeming: The room was alive with mosquitoes.
9. look alive! pay attention! move quickly!: Look alive! We haven't got all day.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE on līfe in life; see a- 1

Related forms:
a⋅live⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
4. active.

Antonyms:
1. dead. 3. defunct. 4. lifeless.

live

2  [lahyv] adjective, liv⋅er, liv⋅est for 4–7, 13–15, adverb
–adjective
1. being alive; living; alive: live animals.
2. of, pertaining to, or during the life of a living being: the animal's live weight.
3. characterized by or indicating the presence of living creatures: the live sounds of the forest.
4. Informal. (of a person) energetic; alert; lively: The club members are a really live bunch.
5. full of life, energy or activity: His approach in any business dealing is live and fresh.
6. burning or glowing: live coals in the fireplace.
7. having resilience or bounce: a live tennis ball.
8. being in play, as a baseball or football.
9. loaded or unexploded, as a cartridge or shell: live ammunition.
10. made up of actual persons: to perform before a live audience.
11. (of a radio or television program) broadcast while happening or being performed; not prerecorded or taped: a live telecast.
12. being highly resonant or reverberant, as an auditorium or concert hall.
13. vivid or bright, as color.
14. of current interest or importance, as a question or issue; controversial; unsettled.
15. moving or imparting motion; powered: the live head on a lathe.
16. still in use, or to be used, as type set up or copy for printing.
17. Also, alive. Electricity. electrically connected to a source of potential difference, or electrically charged so as to have a potential different from that of earth: a live wire.
–adverb
18. (of a radio or television program) at the moment of its happening or being performed; not on tape or by prerecording: a program broadcast live.
—Idiom
19. live one, Slang.
a. a person who spends money readily.
b. a person easily imposed upon or made the dupe of others.
Origin:
1535–45; 1930–35 for def. 11; aph. var. of alive, used attributively

Related forms:
liveness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To alive
a·live   (ə-līv')   
adj.  
  1. Having life; living. See Synonyms at living.
  2. In existence or operation; active: keep your hopes alive.
  3. Full of living or moving things; abounding: a pool alive with trout.
  4. Full of activity or animation; lively: a face alive with mischief.

[Middle English : a-, in a specified state; see a-2 + live, life (from Old English līf; see life).]
a·live'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Alive

A*live"\, a. [OE. on live, AS. on l[=i]fe in life; l[=i]fe being dat. of l[=i]f life. See Life, and cf. Live, a.]

1. Having life, in opposition to dead; living; being in a state in which the organs perform their functions; as, an animal or a plant which is alive.

2. In a state of action; in force or operation; unextinguished; unexpired; existent; as, to keep the fire alive; to keep the affections alive.

3. Exhibiting the activity and motion of many living beings; swarming; thronged.

The Boyne, for a quarter of a mile, was alive with muskets and green boughs. --Macaulay.

4. Sprightly; lively; brisk. --Richardson.

5. Having susceptibility; easily impressed; having lively feelings, as opposed to apathy; sensitive.

Tremblingly alive to nature's laws. --Falconer.

6. Of all living (by way of emphasis).

Northumberland was the proudest man alive. --Clarendon.

Note: Used colloquially as an intensive; as, man alive!

Note: Alive always follows the noun which it qualifies.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : alive
Spanish: vivo,
German: leben,
Japanese: 生きて
More Translations »

alive 
c.1200, from O.E. on life "in living." The fuller form on live was still current 17c. Alive and kicking "alert, vigorous," attested from 1859.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: alive
Pronunciation: &-'lIv
Function: adjective
: having life : not dead or inanimate
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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alive

In addition to the idioms beginning with alive, also see come alive; eat someone alive; look alive; more dead than alive; skin alive.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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