[syn: alive, live]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Alive \A*live"\, a. [OE. on live, AS. on l[imac]fe in life;
l[imac]fe being dat. of l[imac]f life. See Life, and cf.
Live, a.]
1. Having life, in opposition to dead; living; being in a
state in which the organs perform their functions; as, an
animal or a plant which is alive.
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2. In a state of action; in force or operation;
unextinguished; unexpired; existent; as, to keep the fire
alive; to keep the affections alive.
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3. Exhibiting the activity and motion of many living beings;
swarming; thronged.
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The Boyne, for a quarter of a mile, was alive with
muskets and green boughs. --Macaulay.
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4. Sprightly; lively; brisk. --Richardson.
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5. Having susceptibility; easily impressed; having lively
feelings, as opposed to apathy; sensitive.
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Tremblingly alive to nature's laws. --Falconer.
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6. Of all living (by way of emphasis).
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Northumberland was the proudest man alive.
--Clarendon.
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Note: Used colloquially as an intensive; as, man alive!
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Note: Alive always follows the noun which it qualifies.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
alive
adj 1: possessing life; "the happiest person alive"; "the nerve
is alive"; "doctors are working hard to keep him alive";
"burned alive"; "a live canary" [syn: alive(p), live]
[ant: dead]
2: (often followed by `with') full of life and spirit; "she was
wonderfully alive for her age"; "a face alive with mischief"
3: having life or vigor or spirit; "an animated and expressive
face"; "animated conversation"; "became very animated when he
heard the good news" [syn: animated, alive] [ant:
unanimated]
4: (followed by `to' or `of') aware of; "is alive to the moods
of others"
5: in operation; "keep hope alive"; "the tradition was still
alive"; "an active tradition" [syn: active, alive(p)]
6: mentally perceptive and responsive;"an alert mind"; "alert to
the problems"; "alive to what is going on"; "awake to the
dangers of her situation"; "was now awake to the reality of
his predicament" [syn: alert, alive(p), awake(p)]
7: capable of erupting; "a live volcano"; "the volcano is very
much alive" [syn: alive, live]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
157 Moby Thesaurus words for "alive":
abounding, aboveground, active, activist, activistic, agile, alert,
alive and kicking, alive to, alive with, among the living, animate,
animated, apprehensive, around, astir, attentive, au courant,
awake, aware of, bouncing, bouncy, breathing, breezy, bright,
brisk, bristling, bubbly, bursting, bustling, buzzing,
capable of life, chipper, clear-sighted, clear-witted, clearheaded,
cognizant, cognizant of, conscious, conscious of, crawling,
crowded, crowding, dynamic, ebullient, effervescent, eidetic,
endowed with life, enduring, energetic, enlivened, existent,
existing, filled, flush, fresh, frisky, full, full of go,
full of life, full of pep, functioning, green, humming,
in profusion, in the flesh, inspirited, instinct with life,
intelligent, jam-packed, jammed, jumping, keen,
kept in remembrance, knowing, lasting, lavish, live, lively,
living, long-lived, lousy, mercurial, militant, nimble, on the,
on the alert, on the ball, on the job, operative, overflowing,
packed, peppy, perky, pert, populous, prodigal, profuse,
proliferating, prolific, prompt, qui vive, quick, quick-witted,
quicksilver, ready, recalled, recollected, remembered, replete,
retained, rife, running, sensible, sensitive to, sentient, sharp,
sleepless, smacking, smart, snappy, spanking, spirited, sprightly,
spry, studded, superabundant, swarming, teeming, tenacious of life,
thick, thick as hail, thick with, thick-coming, thronged,
thronging, unblinking, unforgotten, unnodding, unsleeping,
unwinking, verdant, very much alive, viable, vigilant, vigorous,
vital, vivacious, vivid, vivified, wakeful, watchful, wide-awake,
witting, working, zingy, zoetic