alive
/əˈlaɪv/ adjective
- adjective Having life; living; not dead. “As long as the plant is alive, he will continue to water it.”
- adjective In a state of action; in force or operation; existent. “to keep the fire alive”
- adjective Busy with activity of many living beings; swarming; thronged; busy. “Although quite dull during the day, the main street comes alive at night, with many bars and clubs opening.”
- adjective (of electrical wiring) Carrying electrical current; energized. “DANGER: OVERHEAD CATENARY—WIRE IS ALIVE”
- adjective (in the construction "alive to") Aware of; sensitive to. “We are alive to the ongoing potential for terrorist attacks.”
- adjective Sprightly; lively; brisk.
- adjective Susceptible, sensitive; easy to impress; having keen feelings, as opposed to apathy.
- adjective (intensifier) Out of all living creatures. “The Whitest Boy Alive”
Synonyms
alive and kicking existing energized hot live frisky ever in the world extant vital peppy zestful above ground alive and well animate animated kicking lively livesome living active alert awake
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English alyve, alive, alife, olive, olife, on live, on life, from Old English on līfe (“alive”, literally “in life" or "in (the) body”), from on (“on, in”) + līfe, dative singular of līf (“life”). In this sense, replaced Old English cwic (whence English quick). Equivalent to a- + life. Compare Dutch in leven (“alive”, literally “in life”), German am Leben (“alive”, literally “at life" or "at living”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Having life, in opposition to dead; living; being in a state in which the organs perform their functions; as, an animal or a plant which is alive.
- adjective In a state of action; in force or operation; unextinguished; unexpired; existent; as, to keep the fire alive; to keep the affections alive.
Etymology [OE. on live, AS. on life in life; life being dat. of lif life. See Life, and cf. Live, a.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “alive”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details