alive

adjective

1)

he was last seen alive on Labor Day

when mastodons were alive

Syn:

living, live; breathing, vital, functioning; animate, sentient; existing; informal alive and kicking, in the land of the living, among the living; archaic quick

Ant:

dead, inanimate, extinct

2)

the association has kept her dream alive

Syn:

in existence, existing, active, existent, extant, ongoing, abiding, functioning, in operation; current, contemporary; informal on the map

Ant:

inactive, obsolete

3)

it was Judith's great love that made Marty so alive

Syn:

animated, lively, full of life, alert, active, energetic, vigorous, spry, sprightly, vital, vivacious, buoyant, exuberant, ebullient, zestful, spirited; informal full of beans, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, chirpy, chipper, peppy, full of vim and vigor

Ant:

listless, lethargic

4)

the place was alive with mice

Syn:

teeming, swarming, overrun, bristling, infested; crowded, packed; informal crawling, lousy; rare pullulating

••

alive, animate, animated, living, vital

Dead is dead, but one can be alive to varying degrees The broadest of these terms describing what has life or shows signs of having it, alive can refer to what barely exists (he was unconscious but still alive when they found him) as well as to what is bursting with (literal or figurative) life (her face was alive with excitement and anticipation). Living, on the other hand, is more limited in scope and implies the condition of not being dead (at 92, she was the oldest living member of the family) or a state of continued existence or activity (America's greatest living historian). Animate has fewer connotations than living or alive; though rare, it is used to distinguish living organisms as opposed to dead ones (one of the few animate creatures after the devastating explosion). Animated, on the other hand, is used to describe inanimate things to which life or the appearance of life has been given (an animated cartoon), or things that are vigorous and lively (an animated debate on the death penalty). Anything that is essential to life is vital (vital functions; vital organs), but it can also be used to describe the energy, activity, and alertness of living things (an aging but vital member of the historical society).