1
: having life : not dead or inanimate
2
a
: still in existence, force, or operation : active
kept hope alive
b
: still active in competition with a chance of victory
must win to stay alive in the playoffs
3
: knowing or realizing the existence of something : sensitive
alive to the danger
4
: marked by alertness, energy, or briskness
his face came alive at the mention of food
5
: marked by much life, animation, or activity : swarming
streets alive with traffic
6
used as an intensive following the noun
the proudest boy alive
aliveness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for alive

aware, cognizant, conscious, sensible, alive, awake mean having knowledge of something.

aware implies vigilance in observing or alertness in drawing inferences from what one experiences.

aware of changes in climate

cognizant implies having special or certain knowledge as from firsthand sources.

not fully cognizant of the facts

conscious implies that one is focusing one's attention on something or is even preoccupied by it.

conscious that my heart was pounding

sensible implies direct or intuitive perceiving especially of intangibles or of emotional states or qualities.

sensible of a teacher's influence

alive adds to sensible the implication of acute sensitivity to something.

alive to the thrill of danger

awake implies that one has become alive to something and is on the alert.

a country always awake to the threat of invasion

Examples of alive in a Sentence

It feels great to be alive. The patient was barely alive. The sheriff was ordered to find the killer and bring him back alive. He managed to stay alive for a week without any food. The patient is being kept alive by artificial means. an old tradition that is still alive We need to keep hope alive. The team needs to win tonight in order to stay alive in the play-offs. I love to sail because it makes me feel so alive.
Recent Examples on the Web The team continued their tour around the Ukrainian capital, which was unexpectedly alive. Venya Brykalin, Vogue, 4 Mar. 2024 Israeli media reported that the government is waiting to learn which hostages are alive and how many Palestinian prisoners Hamas seeks in exchange for each. Tia Goldenberg, arkansasonline.com, 4 Mar. 2024 In the talks, an Israeli official tells NPR, Israel is demanding to know how many hostages are still alive. D. Parvaz, NPR, 4 Mar. 2024 No direct descendants bearing the Rawson name are alive today. Detroit Free Press, 4 Mar. 2024 Serhiy then spent 16 agonizing hours waiting in the courtyard of the building, hoping that his wife and baby were alive. Svitlana Vlasova, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024 According to the World Wildlife Foundation, 1,864 pandas are alive today. Jennifer Borresen, USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2024 Curry, while attempting to go for an offensive rebound and keep a loose ball alive, landed on the foot of Philadelphia center Paul Reed and crumpled to the court, unable to get on his feet to run back on defense. Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 1 Mar. 2024 A lot of those cattle are still alive but the hooves are burned off, the teats on their udders are burned off. Anna Betts, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'alive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English on life, from on + līf life

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of alive was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near alive

Cite this Entry

“Alive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alive. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

alive

adjective
1
: having life : not dead
2
: still in existence, force, or operation : active
kept hope alive
3
: extremely aware or conscious : sensitive
alive to the beauty of life
4
: marked by much life or activity
blossoms alive with bees
aliveness noun

Medical Definition

alive

adjective
: having life : not dead or inanimate

More from Merriam-Webster on alive

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