lived

[lahyvd, livd]

adjective

1. having life, a life, or lives, as specified (usually used in combination).

   a many-lived cat.

-lived

/ -lɪvd /

adjective

1. having or having had a life as specified

   short-lived

Pronunciation Note

Lived, meaning “having a certain kind or extent of life,” is not derived from the preterit and past participle of the verb live , but from the noun life , to which the suffix -ed has been added. The original pronunciation, therefore, and one still heard, is , which retains the vowel (ī) of life. Since the f of life changes to v with the addition of this suffix, as when leaf becomes leaved, this lived is identical in spelling with the preterit and past participle lived, and conflation of the two has led to the increasingly frequent pronunciation of this lived as in such combinations as long-lived and short-lived. Both pronunciations are considered standard.

Other Word Forms

• half-lived adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lived¹

A Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; life, -ed ³

Example Sentences

She was a runaway at 14, lived on the streets and with foster families.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Brendan Fraser gives an endearingly heartfelt performance as an underemployed American actor who has lived in Japan for seven years and speaks its language.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Mice treated with icFSP1 lived longer and experienced tumor reductions similar to those seen in mice whose cancer cells were engineered to lack FSP1.

Read more on Science Daily

About a quarter of the U.S. population lived in rural areas as defined by one analysis by the U.S.

Read more on MarketWatch

The City of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Co. have lived up to their part of the lease, which still has 19 years remaining on it.

Read more on Los Angeles Times