vivid

[viv-id]

adjective

1. strikingly bright or intense, as color, light, etc..

   a vivid green.

   Synonyms: intense, brilliant, bright

2. full of life; lively; animated.

   a vivid personality.

   Synonyms: intense, vivacious, spirited

3. presenting the appearance, freshness, spirit, etc., of life; realistic.

   a vivid account.

4. strong, distinct, or clearly perceptible.

   a vivid recollection.

5. forming distinct and striking mental images.

   a vivid imagination.

vivid

/ ˈvɪvɪd /

adjective

1. (of a colour) very bright; having a very high saturation or purity; produced by a pure or almost pure colouring agent

2. brilliantly coloured

   vivid plumage

3. conveying to the mind striking realism, freshness, or trueness to life; graphic

   a vivid account

4. (of a recollection, memory, etc) remaining distinct in the mind

5. (of the imagination, etc) prolific in the formation of lifelike images

6. making a powerful impact on the emotions or senses

   a vivid feeling of shame

7. uttered, operating, or acting with vigour

   vivid expostulations

8. full of life or vitality

   a vivid personality

Other Word Forms

• vividly adverb
• vividness noun
• vividity noun
• overvivid adjective
• overvividness noun
• unvivid adjective
• unvividness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vivid¹

First recorded in 1630–40; from Latin vīvidus “lively,” equivalent to vīv(ere) “to live” + -idus adjective suffix; vital, -id ⁴

Word History and Origins

Origin of vivid¹

C17: from Latin vīvidus animated, from vīvere to live

Synonym Study

See picturesque.

Example Sentences

The Mellon Blue, a 9.51-carat fancy vivid blue diamond formerly owned by the US art collector Bunny Mellon, sold for $25.6 million at auction on Tuesday.

Read more on Barron's

Mr. Foster is nauseatingly vivid in the part, making Jim Martin too chilling to be a mere cliché.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It was a vivid and frightening image—the drop of a barrier across Europe, a dividing line between free and communist worlds.

Read more on Literature

Memories can be vivid though unreliable, diaries can distort.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

To create this vivid portrait, astronomers combined observations through multiple filters that isolate different wavelengths of light.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• animated 
• bright 
• brilliant 
• colorful 
• dramatic 
• eloquent 
• expressive 
• glowing 
• lifelike 
• lively 
• lucid 
• meaningful 
• memorable 
• realistic 
• rich 
• sharp 
• striking 
• telling 
• theatrical