living

[ liv-ing ]

adjective

1. having life; being alive; not dead:

   living persons.

   Synonyms: live, quick

   Antonyms: dead

2. in actual existence or use; extant:

   living languages.

3. active or thriving; vigorous; strong:

   a living faith.

   Synonyms: flourishing, lively

4. burning or glowing, as a coal.
5. flowing freely, as water.
6. pertaining to, suitable for, or sufficient for existence or subsistence:

   living conditions; a living wage.

7. of or relating to living persons:

   within living memory.

8. lifelike; true to life, as a picture or narrative.
9. in its natural state and place; not uprooted, changed, etc.:

   living rock.

10. 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.

   Synonyms: subsistence, sustenance

3. a particular manner, state, or status of life:

   luxurious living.

4. Usually the living. (used with a plural verb) living persons collectively:

   glad to be back among the living.

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

living

/ ˈlɪvɪŋ /

adjective

1. 1. possessing life; not dead
   2. ( as collective noun preceded by the )

      the living

2. having the characteristics of life (used esp to distinguish organisms from nonliving matter)
3. currently in use or valid

   living language

4. seeming to be real

   a living image

5. See extinct
   (of animals or plants) existing in the present age; extant Compare extinct
6. See live
   geology another word for live 2
7. presented by actors before a live audience

   living theatre

8. prenominal (intensifier)

   the living daylights

noun

1. the condition of being alive
2. the manner in which one conducts one's life

   fast living

3. the means, esp the financial means, whereby one lives
4. See benefice
   Church of England another term for benefice
5. modifier of, involving, or characteristic of everyday life

   living area

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

Other Words From

• living·ly adverb
• living·ness noun
• non·living adjective noun
• quasi-living adjective
• un·living adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of living¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective lyvyng(e); replacing earlier liviende, Old English lifgende ( live ¹, -ing ² ); Middle English noun living(e) ( -ing ¹ )

Example Sentences

His prototype for Goat is Alto Pharmacy, a booming digital health unicorn today that the founders started in his living room.

From TechCrunch

It didn’t take long for the Wrecking Ball of Consequence to come swinging into the Houston Rockets’ living room.

From FiveThirtyEight

This ensures your CTV ads are delivering an experience that is traditionally only found in the living room, watching network television.

From Search Engine Land

As much as Netflix may be a tree in spirit, in reality, it’s not a living, interconnected organism.

From Freakonomics

We could raise the federal minimum wage, which hasn’t gone up in over 11 years, or incentivize businesses to pay their employees a living wage.

From Fortune

Patrick Klugman, the deputy mayor of Paris, said: “We are living our kind of 9/11,” he said.

From The Daily Beast

Last week I turned 40, a bittersweet occasion because I crossed the line to living longer without my mother than with her.

From The Daily Beast

But as an American creating a new brand here, and living the daily life of the souk, he seems to be in a league of his own.

From The Daily Beast

A single father, he had been living abroad and returned when his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

From The Daily Beast

For those living in poor communities in particular, interactions with police rarely come with good news and a smile.

From The Daily Beast

To be so humbled in the knowledge of any living being, was the vultures of Prometheus to the proud heart of Ripperda.

From Project Gutenberg

The living (value £250) is in the gift of trustees, and is now held by the Rev. M. Parker, Vicar.

From Project Gutenberg

So far as their thought is still alive these men will come into the discussion of living questions now.

From Project Gutenberg

If they are still Moderns and alive, I defy you to bury them if you are discussing living questions in a full and honest way.

From Project Gutenberg

Either they are unavoidable if your living questions are fully discussed, or they are irrelevant and they do not matter.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• breathing
• contemporary

When To Use

What are other ways to say living?

A person’s living is their means of maintaining life. How is this term different from livelihood and maintenance? Find out on Thesaurus.com.