come alive
Idioms-
Also, come to life.
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Become vigorous or lively. For example, It took some fast rhythms to make the dancers come alive , or As soon as he mentioned ice cream, the children came to life . The adjective alive has been used in the sense of “vivacious” since the 1700s. Also, the variant originally (late 1600s) meant “to recover from a faint or apparent death.” [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]
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Appear real or believable, as in It's really hard to make this prose come to life . Also see look alive .
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.
“Mother Mary” doesn’t truly come alive unless one is willing to engage with its dense and frequently dour text, which opens with patience.
From Salon • Apr. 24, 2026
“When you choose this profession, you don’t just say the words. The fun is making somebody come alive that you don’t necessarily identify with.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
"Against vast skies, rolling hills and shifting weather the pair seemed to come alive - timeless guardians of the landscape."
From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026
"If you look at the athletes France have, if we kick a little too far, or if there's an offload, they come alive," Tandy told the BBC.
From Barron's • Feb. 15, 2026
The cover was dull and worn now, but Danny traced his finger where he’d seen the golden letters come alive.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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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.