1
a
: having life
b
: active, functioning
living languages
2
a
: exhibiting the life or motion of nature : natural
The wilderness is a living museum … of natural history …—
NEA Jour.
NEA Jour.3
a
: full of life or vigor
b
: true to life : vivid
televised in living color
c
: suited for living
the living area
4
: involving living persons
5
: very
—used as an intensive
scared the living daylights out of me
livingness
noun
1
: the condition of being alive
2
a
: means of subsistence : livelihood
earning a living
c
British
: benefice sense 1
3
: conduct or manner of life
… the collegiate way of living …—J. B. Conant
J. B. ConantExamples of living in a Sentence
Adjective
I was taught to respect all living things.
His aunt is his closest living relative.
He's one of our greatest living authors.
It was the first time I had ever seen a living, breathing bear in the wild.
Noun
the challenges of city living
It's summertime, and the living is easy.
the living and the dead
The world belongs to the living.
Recent Examples on the Web
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2025
There’s a wonderful chapter in which an older woman extolls a younger one to tell a painful story not with words, but with movements, so as to expel her pain without enlisting narrative’s power to summon, and thus force a re-living, of painful events.
—Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
Beki San Martin, Freep.com, 15 Nov. 2025
Police and court records paint a picture of an unstable living situation for both Davis and Gabrielle since last year.
—Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN Money, 15 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for living
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Because these ultra-small devices are fused with living biological cells before injection, they are not rejected by the immune system and can cross the blood-brain barrier naturally, a key advantage over conventional implants that require invasive access.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2025
There’s a wonderful chapter in which an older woman extolls a younger one to tell a painful story not with words, but with movements, so as to expel her pain without enlisting narrative’s power to summon, and thus force a re-living, of painful events.
—Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
Noun
There are around 2,500 more kids between birth and 5-years-old living in each of these two Zip codes than there are licensed child care seats available for kids in the same age range, according to the IFF analysis.
—Beki San Martin, Freep.com, 15 Nov. 2025
Police and court records paint a picture of an unstable living situation for both Davis and Gabrielle since last year.
—Nicquel Terry Ellis, CNN Money, 15 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for living
Cite this Entry
“Living.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/living. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
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