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lived

American  
[lahyvd, livd] / laɪvd, lɪvd /

adjective

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

    a many-lived cat.


-lived British  
/ -lɪvd /

adjective

  1. having or having had a life as specified

    short-lived

"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

Pronunciation

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

Etymology

Origin of lived

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

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.

For years, they lived nomadically, spending time in some high-cost countries that they offset with time in low-cost countries.

From MarketWatch

Like Benjamin Franklin, who lived in London in these years, he aspired to combine art, science, ethics and public appeal in a single worldview.

From The Wall Street Journal

And Nan Goldin has been on both sides of that spectrum and lived to tell the tale.

From Salon

It is a question informed by having lived through Web 2.0, an era of technology fueled by user data.

From The Wall Street Journal

By the end of the DWT trial, an estimated 15 family groups lived along the catchment.

From BBC