lifelike

adjective life·like \ ˈlīf-ˌlīk \

Definition of lifelike

:accurately representing or imitating real life

a lifelike portrait

—

lifelikeness

noun

See lifelike defined for English-language learners

See lifelike defined for kids

Examples of lifelike in a Sentence

The graphics in the video game are more lifelike than we imagined they would be.
the eyes of the lifelike portrait seem to follow visitors around the room

Recent Examples of lifelike from the Web

Vollmer posted a video clip of the tech online, which shows 3D chairs, sofas, tables and fireplaces with lifelike proportions being manipulated around an empty room.

— lisa eadicicco, Time, "Inside Apple's Plan to Give You a New Way of Experiencing the World," 29 Aug. 2017
In celebration of the 10th anniversary, the county has installed 56 fascinating, lifelike sculptures by Seward Johnson, whose work also adorns the scene in Carmel.

— jo ellen meyers sharp, Indianapolis Star, "Hoosier Gardener: Garden tour event could have multimillion-dollar impact," 25 Aug. 2017
In Sarah Ruhl's Passion Play, fish are a surreal motif, memorably realized in the Goodman's 2007 production by lifelike puppets paraded across the stage, shimmering and obscure.

— Chicago Reader, "Triassic Parq: The Musical, A Fool’s Journey, and five more new stage shows to see (or avoid)," 26 July 2017
While the resulting experience is already surprisingly good, the addition of a 3D laser system on the back of the phone would dramatically improve the depth measurement part, and would make the AR even more lifelike.

— yoni heisler, Fox News, "iPhone 8 said to feature next-gen 3D laser technology," 13 July 2017
Following in the footsteps of Netflix and Amazon, Google is bringing HDR playback to Play Store movies and TV shows to make your viewing experience more lifelike than ever.

— michael simon, PCWorld, "Google pretties up Google Play movies and TV shows with HDR," 12 July 2017
A few seasons back, IMK and company started incorporating eerily lifelike face masks into the show.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "There Could Be a Weird Twist to That 'Spencer Has a Twin' Fan Theory on 'Pretty Little Liars'," 26 June 2017
Hope Ryden, whose lifelike photographs of North American beavers, coyotes, mustangs and other wildlife helped elevate them into poster animals for conservation campaigns, died on June 18 in Hyannis, Mass.

— sam roberts, New York Times, "Hope Ryden, Wildlife Protector and Photographer, Dies at 87," 26 June 2017
A New Species Building on these early efforts, researchers will develop more lifelike machines.

— NBC News, "What the Rise of Sentient Robots Will Mean for Human Beings," 19 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lifelike.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.