lividity

[ li-vid-i-tee ]

/ lɪˈvɪd ɪ ti /

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noun

a discolored, bluish appearance caused by a bruise, pooling of blood due to congestion of blood vessels, strangulation, etc.: When the dead person is lying on their back, lividity will form on the buttocks, back, or backs of the legs.

a grayish or ashen appearance of the face; pallor: The traditional ghost image usually involves a certain paleness of the face—a corpselike lividity.

furious anger: When the generator they’d ordered arrived late and then failed to work, her lividity knew no bounds.

a reddish appearance of the face, as from strong emotion or embarrassment: I was on the shore with my parents, watching the sky flush scarlet with a hue like lividity rising to an angry face.

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THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Sometimes liv·id·ness

[liv-id-nis] /ˈlɪv ɪd nɪs/ .

Origin of lividity

First recorded in 1400–50; from Late Latin lividitas, equivalent to Latin līvid(us) “black and blue” + -itās -ity; see livid

Words nearby lividity

live wire, live with, liveyer, Livia Drusilla, livid, lividity, living, living bandage, living bank, living daylights, living death

How to use lividity in a sentence

For some days previous to his dissolution, there was increased lividity of countenance, and little or no action of heart.
An Investigation into the Nature of Black Phthisis|Archibald Makellar
A hiccough commenced; coldness of the extremities and lividity of the face followed, and continued three days before death.
Cases of Organic Diseases of the Heart|John Collins Warren
The sky was leaden, and there was a peculiar and almost sinister lividity in the wan light of the afternoon.
The Socialist|Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
The lividity, yes; but one could think of that as simply the shadow of death.
The Trial of Callista Blake|Edgar Pangborn

Post-mortem discoloration, or post-mortem lividity, often appears during the first contact.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2|Various