Synonyms Examples Word Origin
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 before 1000; Middle English; Old English on līfe in
life ; see
a-1 Related forms a·live·ness , noun half-a·live , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for half-alive Historical Examples of half-alive With him, she was only half-alive ; the rest was dormant, deadened.
They don't ever understand, these easy, half-alive , untempted folks!
The noose slipped, and I was dangling in the air in excruciating agony, half-dead and half-alive .
The unfortunate victims, when you chance to meet them, mostly look but half-alive , and dismally cold.
Mrs. Rowan sat by her husband's side, leaning back in her chair, with closed eyes and clasped hands, only half-alive .
British Dictionary definitions for half-alive (of people, animals, plants, etc) living; having life in existence; active they kept hope alive ; the tradition was still alive (immediately postpositive and usually used with a superlative) of those living; now living the happiest woman alive full of life; lively she was wonderfully alive for her age (usually foll by with) animated a 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
Derived Forms aliveness , noun Word Origin for alive 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 half-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).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with half-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.
