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

Derived Forms

• ˈvividness, noun
• ˈvividly, adverb

Other Words From

• viv·id·ly adverb
• viv·id·ness vi·vid·i·ty [vi-, vid, -i-tee], noun
• o·ver·viv·id adjective
• o·ver·viv·id·ness noun
• un·viv·id adjective
• un·viv·id·ness 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

There was nothing I could do about it, but it was also a very vivid period of my life.

From Time

The book begins on a hill above his neighborhood, a favorite place from childhood, and though the place has changed, the memories remain vivid.

From Washington Post

This year demonstrated the importance of agility in a particularly vivid way, as companies of all sizes had to integrate creative solutions to implement transitions of people and their work environments.

From Fortune

Ideal for middle school through college, this enhanced calculator has a vivid backlit display, rechargeable battery, preloaded apps, and MathPrint mode.

From Popular-Science

Part of this inspires my dreams of the global, multidimensional, interactive classroom where you can have a vivid, virtual meta-verse that allows real people from around the world to communicate with and learn from one another.

From Fortune

Yet for a vivid decade or so, sleaze was, somewhat paradoxically, a force for literacy and empowerment.

From The Daily Beast

Today, with the memories of Ingrid Bergman so vivid in his mind, it seems clear that he's been thinking about her a great deal.

From The Daily Beast

By the end of his life, the memories of corporal punishment at the hands of his teachers were vivid.

From The Daily Beast

For such songs, she pairs raunchy lyrics with vivid imagery.

From The Daily Beast

This particular bit of airplane was vivid with the possibility that it was a significant clue.

From The Daily Beast

First Impressions are usually vivid but the power to revive them is weak—a poor memory.

From Project Gutenberg

And the most vivid First Impressions always result from the action of the intellect upon the sensuous stimuli from ear and eye.

From Project Gutenberg

He was a new force and his pages kindled in our hearts a vivid feeling for the poor and their wrongs.

From Project Gutenberg

Traveling is useful in that it gives us a more vivid idea of the immense amount of knowledge we yet lack.

From Project Gutenberg

A more vivid concurrence can scarcely be imagined, since he and Bonaparte were both born in the same year, 1769.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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