living

[ liv-ing ]
See synonyms for living on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. having life; being alive; not dead: living persons.

  2. in actual existence or use; extant: living languages.

  1. active or thriving; vigorous; strong: a living faith.

  2. burning or glowing, as a coal.

  3. flowing freely, as water.

  4. pertaining to, suitable for, or sufficient for existence or subsistence: living conditions; a living wage.

  5. of or relating to living persons: within living memory.

  6. lifelike; true to life, as a picture or narrative.

  7. in its natural state and place; not uprooted, changed, etc.: living rock.

  8. Informal. very; absolute (used as an intensifier): You scared the living daylights out of me!He's making her life a living hell.

noun
  1. the act or condition of a person or thing that lives: Living is very expensive these days.

  2. the means of maintaining life; livelihood: to earn one's living.

  1. a particular manner, state, or status of life: luxurious living.

  2. Usually the living .(used with a plural verb) living persons collectively: glad to be back among the living.

  3. British. the benefice of a member of the clergy.

Origin of living

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective lyvyng(e); replacing earlier liviende, Old English lifgende (see live1, -ing2); Middle English noun living(e) (see -ing1)

Other words for living

Opposites for living

Other words from living

  • liv·ing·ly, adverb
  • liv·ing·ness, noun
  • non·liv·ing, adjective, noun
  • quasi-living, adjective
  • un·liv·ing, adjective

Words Nearby living

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use living in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for living

living

/ (ˈlɪvɪŋ) /


adjective
    • possessing life; not dead

    • (as collective noun preceded by the): the living

  1. having the characteristics of life (used esp to distinguish organisms from nonliving matter)

  1. currently in use or valid: living language

  2. seeming to be real: a living image

  3. (of animals or plants) existing in the present age; extant: Compare extinct (def. 1)

  4. geology another word for live 2 (def. 15)

  5. presented by actors before a live audience: living theatre

  6. (prenominal) (intensifier): the living daylights

noun
  1. the condition of being alive

  2. the manner in which one conducts one's life: fast living

  1. the means, esp the financial means, whereby one lives

  2. Church of England another term for benefice

  3. (modifier) of, involving, or characteristic of everyday life: living area

  4. (modifier) of or involving those now alive (esp in the phrase living memory)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012