Word of the Day

: January 25, 2024

vivacious

adjective vuh-VAY-shus

What It Means

Someone or something described as vivacious is happy and lively in an appealing way.

// Our vivacious host’s bubbly humor and welcoming spirit quickly set everyone at ease.

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vivacious in Context

“Mikayla Nogueira staked her claim in the beauty space on TikTok by grabbing the attention of viewers through her incredible makeup skills, her vivacious energy and, of course, her Boston accent.” — Kerry Justich, Yahoo! Life, 2 Nov. 2023

Did You Know?

Vivacious may not be onomatopoeic in a strict sense, but there’s definitely something lively—maybe even a bit va-va-voom—in the way its three syllables trip off the tongue. Perhaps this is why it has appealed to English speakers since the mid-1600s, when it was formed from the Latin adjective vivax meaning “long-lived, vigorous, or high-spirited.” Vivax comes from the verb vivere, meaning “to live.” Other English descendants of vivere include survive, revive, and victual—all of which came to life during the 15th century—and vivid and convivial, both of which surfaced around the same time as vivacious. Somewhat surprisingly, the word live is unrelated; it comes to us from the Old English word libban.