vivid

[viv-id]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vivid ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

strikingly bright or intense, as color, light, etc.: a vivid green.

full of life; lively; animated: a vivid personality.

presenting the appearance, freshness, spirit, etc., of life; realistic: a vivid account.

strong, distinct, or clearly perceptible: a vivid recollection.

forming distinct and striking mental images: a vivid imagination.

Nearby words

Origin of vivid

1630–40; < Latin vīvidus lively, equivalent to vīv(ere) to live (see vital) + -idus -id⁴

SYNONYMS FOR vivid

1. bright, brilliant, intense. 2. spirited, vivacious, intense. 3. See picturesque.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vivid ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

viv·id·ly, adverbviv·id·ness, vi·vid·i·ty, nouno·ver·viv·id, adjectiveo·ver·viv·id·ly, adverb

o·ver·viv·id·ness, nounun·viv·id, adjectiveun·viv·id·ly, adverbun·viv·id·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for vivid

Yet for a vivid decade or so, sleaze was, somewhat paradoxically, a force for literacy and empowerment.
How Pulp Fiction Saved Literature|Wendy Smith|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Today, with the memories of Ingrid Bergman so vivid in his mind, it seems clear that he's been thinking about her a great deal.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By the end of his life, the memories of corporal punishment at the hands of his teachers were vivid.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For such songs, she pairs raunchy lyrics with vivid imagery.
From Church of Christ to Pansexual Rapper|Tyler Gillespie|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

This particular bit of airplane was vivid with the possibility that it was a significant clue.
How Amelia's Plane Was Found|Michael Daly|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This eighteenth-century Colonial narrative gives a vivid description of Roger's Rangers.
A Mother's List of Books for Children|Gertrude Weld Arnold
A vivid blush suffused her face, which appeared all the prettier to him in its embarrassed shyness.
Simon Eichelkatz; The Patriarch|Ulrich Frank
His descriptions of visible things, of streets and hills, and seas and men, are vivid in his accustomed manner.
Titanic|Filson Young
The vivid and sudden contrast of this little drive with the hotel is one of the pleasantest points of Saratoga life.
Saratoga and How to See It|R. F. Dearborn
The story presents a picture of truth and honor that cannot fail to have a vivid impression upon the reader.
The Convert|Elizabeth Robins

British Dictionary definitions for vivid

vivid

adjective

(of a colour) very bright; having a very high saturation or purity; produced by a pure or almost pure colouring agent

brilliantly colouredvivid plumage

conveying to the mind striking realism, freshness, or trueness to life; graphica vivid account

(of a recollection, memory, etc) remaining distinct in the mind

(of the imagination, etc) prolific in the formation of lifelike images

making a powerful impact on the emotions or sensesa vivid feeling of shame

uttered, operating, or acting with vigourvivid expostulations

full of life or vitalitya vivid personality

Derived Formsvividly, adverbvividness, noun

Word Origin for vivid

C17: from Latin vīvidus animated, from vīvere to live

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

Word Origin and History for vivid

vivid

adj.

1630s, from Latin vividus "spirited, animated, lively," from vivus "alive," from PIE *gwei- (see vital). Extension to colors is first recorded 1660s. Sense of "strong, distinct" (as of memories, etc.) is from 1680s; that of "very active or intense" (as of imagination, interest, etc.) is from 1853. Related: Vividly; vividness.