alive
[uh-lahyv]
- having life; living; existing; not dead or lifeless.
- living (used for emphasis): the proudest man alive.
- in a state of action; in force or operation; active: to keep hope alive.
- full of energy and spirit; lively: Grandmother's more alive than most of her contemporaries.
- having the quality of life; vivid; vibrant: The room was alive with color.
- Electricity. live2(def 17).
Show More
- alive to, alert or sensitive to; aware of: City planners are alive to the necessity of revitalizing deteriorating neighborhoods.
- alive with, filled with living things; swarming; teeming: The room was alive with mosquitoes.
- look alive! pay attention! move quickly!: Look alive! We haven't got all day.
Show More
Origin of alive
Synonyms
See more synonyms for alive on Thesaurus.com4. active.
Antonyms
1. dead. 3. defunct. 4. lifeless.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for aliveness
Contemporary Examples
We all share a similar level of aliveness, but experience being alive in a myriad of ways.
Why do you think that talking in terms of questions and ignorance lends itself to that kind of aliveness?
Stuart Firestein, Author of ‘Ignorance,’ Says Not Knowing Is the Key to ScienceCasey Schwartz
April 22, 2012
Historical Examples
This gives his quicksight number, to be added to his aliveness score.
Woodland TalesErnest Seton-Thompson
It was an effect of keenness, of aliveness to the zest of the passing moment.
Kildares of StormEleanor Mercein Kelly
The means of expression which he had formed for himself were directed to and brought forward this aliveness.
Auguste RodinRainer Maria Rilke
alive
- (of people, animals, plants, etc) living; having life
- in existence; activethey kept hope alive; the tradition was still alive
- (immediately postpositive and usually used with a superlative) of those living; now livingthe happiest woman alive
- full of life; livelyshe was wonderfully alive for her age
- (usually foll by with) animateda face alive with emotion
- (foll by to) aware (of); sensitive (to)
- (foll by with) teeming (with)the mattress was alive with fleas
- electronics another word for live 2 (def. 11)
- alive and kicking (of a person) active and in good health
- look alive! hurry up! get busy!
Show More
Word Origin
Old English on līfe in life
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
Word Origin and History for aliveness
alive
adj.
c.1200, from Old English on life "in living." The fuller form on live was still current 17c. Alive and kicking "alert, vigorous," attested from 1859; "The allusion is to a child in the womb after quickening" [Farmer]. Used emphatically, especially with man; e.g.:
[A]bout a thousand gentlemen having bought his almanacks for this year, merely to find what he said against me, at every line they read they would lift up their eyes, and cry out betwixt rage and laughter, "they were sure no man alive ever writ such damned stuff as this." [Jonathan Swift, Bickerstaff's Vindication, 1709]
Thus abstracted as an expletive, man alive! (1845).
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with aliveness
alive
In addition to the idioms beginning with alive
- alive and kicking
- alive to
- alive with
also see:
- come alive
- eat someone alive
- look alive
- more dead than alive
- skin alive
Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.