livid

adjective

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liv·id | \ ˈli-vəd

Definition of livid

1 : discolored by bruising : black-and-blue the livid traces of the sharp scourges— Abraham Cowley

2 : ashen, pallid this cross, thy livid face, thy pierced hands and feet— Walt Whitman

3 : reddish a fan of gladiolas blushed livid under the electric letters— Truman Capote

4 : very angry : enraged was livid at his son's disobedience

Other Words from livid Synonyms & Antonyms Did you know? More Example Sentences Learn More About livid

Did you know?

Livid has a colorful history. The Latin adjective lividus means "dull, grayish, or leaden blue." From this came the French livide, which English borrowed as livid. The word can describe flesh discolored by a bruise or an appearance deficient in color. Eventually, it came to be used for the complexion of a person pale with anger (i.e., "a person livid with rage"). From this meaning came two new senses: "reddish," as one is as likely to become red with anger as pale; the other was simply "angry" or "furious."

Examples of livid in a Sentence

the boss was livid when yet another deadline was missed her face was livid with fear

Recent Examples on the Web Five-time amateur golf champion Billy Musselman was livid when he was pulled over for speeding on Linn Station Road on April 9, 1982. — Andrew Wolfson, The Courier-Journal, 10 May 2022 An Uber driver in Florida is livid after his attacker avoided jail time. — Garfield Hylton, Orlando Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2022 Menendez, whose key vote the administration will want on any nuclear deal with Iran, was livid over being blindsided. — Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2022 The Blue Jackets were livid, and Jakub Voracek picked up a 10-minute misconduct penalty for raging at with officials. — Mitch Stacy, courant.com, 4 Apr. 2022 Sources say Kilar was aware of rumors that Zucker was in a long-term relationship with Gollust, who was also the network’s chief marketing officer — and that Zucker, given just 24 hours notice of the move, was livid. — Tatiana Siegel, Rolling Stone, 3 Feb. 2022 Environmental campaigners and some countries are livid after the European Commission decided natural gas and nuclear power will have to play a role in the EU's transition to renewable energy sources. — David Meyer, Fortune, 3 Feb. 2022 Naturally, Prince is livid, and this becomes a do-or-die moment for Wags. — Kyle Fowle, EW.com, 31 Jan. 2022 Sports fans who subscribed to the service, which is owned by search giant Google, were livid about the outage, which began Friday night in the middle of ESPN’s broadcast of a Los Angeles Lakers-Minnesota Timberwolves’ basketball game. — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2021 See More

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