lifelike
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lifelike
Explanation
Lifelike things look real, but they're not. A lifelike wax figure might look just like Queen Elizabeth, but it's actually a realistic statue. An artist whose style is described as "realism" probably paints very lifelike scenes, producing paintings that look a lot like photographs. A child's doll might be disturbingly lifelike, made to look like a real live baby. As with many words, this one started life in the seventeenth century with a completely different meaning, "likely to live." The current definition came along about a hundred years later.
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.
In one recording of a WhatsApp video call seen by AFP, the scammer, appearing lifelike as the prince, flickered on the screen.
From Barron's • Jul. 3, 2026
Klein raved about how the Dodgers treat player families, and about a high-tech pitching machine so lifelike that he could see what it would be like to bat against him.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2026
No matter how lifelike A.I. systems appear from the outside, we know that they are merely mathematical flip-books.
From Slate • May 25, 2026
Although there are no known surviving paintings made in her lifetime, there are a handful of lifelike, yet contested, depictions left.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
The frieze alone boasted a thousand sparrows so lifelike that real birds had been known to while away their lives romancing them in vain.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
