live-action

adjective

live-ac·​tion ˈlīv-ˈak-shən 

variants or less commonly live action

1

: of, relating to, or featuring cinematography that is not produced by animation

a live-action film

2

: done or performed live and usually in person

a live-action performance

live-action role-playing games

Examples of live-action in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Disney's live-action remakes continue to be a gamble, with the new *Moana* film drawing harsh criticism for its lack of originality. — Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

Dwayne Johnson was instrumental to the development of the live-action film and was a producer, but was there ever a conversation about having someone other than him to play Maui? — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 10 July 2026

That’s lower than the live-action version of Snow White (39%) starring Rachel Zegler, Will Smith’s Aladdin (57%) and Dumbo (46%). — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 10 July 2026

Across 13 recent live-action films from Disney and other studios, all made more than 60% of their global box office revenue in international markets, Gross said. — Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for live-action

• benefaction
• counteraction
• interaction
• liquefaction
• putrefaction
• rarefaction
• satisfaction
• stupefaction
• tumefaction
• abstraction
• attraction
• compaction

Kids Definition

live-action

adjective

live-ac·​tion ˈlīv-ˈak-shən 

1

: of, relating to, or featuring cinematography that is not produced by animation

2

: done or performed live and usually in person