lief
Americanadverb
adjective
-
willing; desirous.
-
dear; beloved; treasured.
adverb
adjective
Other Word Forms
- liefly adverb
Etymology
Origin of lief
First recorded before 900; Middle English leef, Old English lēof; cognate with Dutch lief, German lieb, Old Norse ljufr, Gothic liufs; akin to love
Vocabulary lists containing lief
"The Crucible," Vocabulary from the play
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"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
You don’t get anywhere in lief without a bit of pain sometimes.
From The Guardian • Sep. 7, 2015
You don’t get anywhere in lief without a bit of pain sometimes.
From The Guardian • Sep. 7, 2015
"What do you think of this passage?" he scornfully asked a Shakespearean enthusiast: " 'I would as lief be thrust through a quicket hedge as cry Pooh to a callow throstle.'"
From Time Magazine Archive
Last February Rob Godfrey went on re lief, was put to teaching WPA art classes.
From Time Magazine Archive
Want so lief het God die wêreld gehad, dat Hy sy eniggebore Seun gegee het, sodat elkeen wat in Hom glo, nie verlore mag gaan nie, maar die ewige lewe kan hê.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
