alive

alive — adjective

1. having life in your body and breathing — that is, the opposite of dead.

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

having life in your body and breathing — that is, the opposite of dead.

Example

Nadia's grandmother is ninety-eight and still very much alive.

predicative use after 'be'

After three days under the rubble, the small dog was found alive.

passive: be found alive

Common collocations
  • still alive
  • barely alive
  • kept alive
  • found alive
  • stay alive
Synonyms
  • living

    can sit before a noun (a living animal); 'alive' cannot.

  • breathing

    informal; emphasises being physically active and present.

Antonyms
  • dead

    direct opposite for people, animals, and plants.

Grammar Patterns

be alive

stay alive

keep someone alive

Usage Note

Only used after a verb (be, feel, stay, keep, find), never before a noun. For 'a living person', use 'living' instead of 'alive'.

Common Mistakes

an alive fish
a living fish' OR 'a fish that is still alive
'alive' cannot sit directly before a noun.
She is a very alive woman.
She is very much alive.
'alive' takes a predicative position; intensify with 'very much', not just 'very'.

2. used about an idea, hope, tradition, memory, or chance: still going on and not y

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

used about an idea, hope, tradition, memory, or chance: still going on and not yet ended or forgotten.

Example

The villagers work hard to keep their old harvest songs alive for the children.

keep [tradition] alive

Omar's hope of becoming a pilot stayed alive through years of rejection letters.

abstract subject: hope stays alive

Common collocations
  • keep [hope/tradition/memory] alive
  • kept alive by
  • still alive
  • dream is alive
Synonyms
  • surviving

    stronger sense of having endured a threat.

  • active

    for ideas or movements that are being practised, not just remembered.

Antonyms
  • dead

    informal opposite for hopes or chances ('the dream is dead').

  • extinct

    for languages, traditions, or species that no longer exist anywhere.

Grammar Patterns

keep [something] alive

be alive in [place/people]

Usage Note

Subject is typically an abstract noun: hope, dream, memory, tradition, chance, debate, language. Distinguish from sense 1, which always describes a living creature, not an idea.

Common Mistakes

The old language is alive only in books.
The old language is kept alive only in books.
for traditions/languages, the passive 'be kept alive' sounds more natural than a flat 'is alive'.

3. feeling or showing strong energy, excitement, or interest — for example, eyes sh

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

feeling or showing strong energy, excitement, or interest — for example, eyes shining, a face lighting up, or a room buzzing with talk.

Example

Bao only really feels alive when he is running through the forest at dawn.

feel alive (subjective experience)

Her eyes came alive the moment the band started playing her favourite song.

come alive (sudden burst of energy)

Common collocations
  • come alive
  • feel alive
  • alive with excitement
  • alive with colour
  • alive with music
Synonyms
  • lively

    can sit before a noun (a lively crowd); describes the same vibe but more steady, less sudden.

  • vibrant

    more formal; suggests bright, attractive energy.

  • animated

    describes face, gestures, or conversation that becomes lively.

Antonyms
  • dull

    general opposite for energy in people or places.

  • lifeless

    stronger; suggests no spark at all.

Grammar Patterns

come alive

feel alive

alive with [noun]

Usage Note

Often pairs with the verb 'come' or 'feel'. Distinguish from sense 4, which describes a place crowded with creatures rather than a person or place full of emotion.

Common Mistakes

He is an alive performer on stage.
He really comes alive on stage.
use the verb phrase 'come alive', not 'an alive person'.

4. used about a place that is packed with creatures that move around, or with peopl

4.adjectiveC1
Definition

used about a place that is packed with creatures that move around, or with people busily doing things — for example, a pond crowded with frogs, or a market full of shoppers and stalls.

Example

In April the meadow was alive with butterflies, bees, and small yellow flowers.

alive with [creatures]

The rock pool was alive with tiny crabs darting between the seaweed.

alive with [moving things]

Common collocations
  • alive with insects
  • alive with fish
  • alive with people
  • alive with activity
Synonyms
  • teeming

    stronger; suggests a striking, almost overflowing crowd.

  • swarming

    often used for insects or fast-moving crowds.

  • buzzing

    informal; works for places full of people and noise.

Antonyms
  • deserted

    for places empty of people.

  • lifeless

    for places empty of any living thing.

Grammar Patterns

alive with [plural noun]

Usage Note

Almost always followed by 'with' plus a plural noun naming the creatures or moving things. Subject is the place, not the creatures themselves.

Common Mistakes

The fish are alive in the pond.' (when meaning the pond is crowded)
The pond is alive with fish.
the place is the subject, the creatures follow 'with'.

5. noticing that something exists and treating it as important — used mostly in for

5.adjectiveC2
Definition

noticing that something exists and treating it as important — used mostly in formal writing, with the preposition 'to'.

Example

The mayor seems fully alive to the dangers of building on the old riverbank.

alive to [noun]

Good teachers are alive to the small signs that a child is struggling at home.

alive to small signs that…

Common collocations
  • alive to the danger
  • alive to the risk
  • alive to the possibility
  • fully alive to
Synonyms
  • aware

    neutral and far more common; takes 'of' instead of 'to'.

  • sensitive

    suggests responding with care, not just noticing.

  • attuned

    formal; suggests fine-grained, ongoing awareness.

Antonyms
  • oblivious

    completely unaware; takes 'to' or 'of'.

  • blind

    figurative: refusing to see something obvious.

Grammar Patterns

alive to [noun/-ing]

Usage Note

Almost always followed by 'to' plus a noun or -ing phrase. More formal than 'aware of' or 'sensitive to'; common in news writing, reports, and speeches rather than everyday speech.

Common Mistakes

She is alive of the danger.
She is alive to the danger.
the fixed preposition is 'to', not 'of'.
The team is alive that the deadline is tight.
The team is alive to the fact that the deadline is tight.
to take a clause, use 'alive to the fact that…'.
Idioms

alive and kicking

idiom

still going strong and full of energy, even though people may have expected this person, group, or thing to have stopped or disappeared.

At eighty-three, Grandma Rosa is alive and kicking and still teaches salsa on Saturdays.

Vinyl records are alive and kicking in shops along Taipei's Yongkang Street.

alive and well

idiom

safe and in good health, often said with relief after worry; also used about ideas or trends that are still strong.

After the typhoon, Omar called to say his family was alive and well in Hualien.

Old-style craft printing is alive and well in the small lanes of Tainan.

eat someone alive

idiom

to defeat, criticize, or attack someone so harshly that they have no chance to defend themselves; often used about debates, courts, the press, or insects.

The lawyer warned Bao that the prosecutor would eat him alive on the witness stand.

Without insect repellent, the mosquitoes by the lake will eat you alive.

bring something alive

idiom

to make a topic, story, or place feel exciting and real, instead of dry or boring, by the way you describe or present it.

Mr. Chen's stories about the old harbour really bring local history alive for his students.

The new lighting design brought the old theatre alive on opening night.

come alive

idiom

to suddenly become lively, exciting, or full of activity after being quiet or dull.

The old town square comes alive every December when the lantern festival begins.

Nadia's face came alive the moment her brother walked through the airport gate.

eat somebody alive

idiom

To attack or blame someone very strongly because you are very angry at them.

The coach will eat you alive if you miss practice again.

Did the boss eat you alive for that mistake?

Word family

  • live
    verbA1
  • live
    adjectiveB1
  • living
    adjectiveA2
  • life
    nounA1
  • lively
    adjectiveB1
  • liveliness
    nounC1
  • lifeless
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These four words all point to the state of having life, but each fits a different slot. 'Alive' only stands after a verb — be alive, stay alive, find someone alive — and never directly before a noun. 'Living' is the form you reach for in front of nouns: a living animal, living relatives, the world's largest living tree. 'Live' (rhyming with 'hive') is mostly used before nouns to mean 'not preserved or recorded' — live music, a live broadcast, live fish at the seafood market. 'Breathing', though literal, often appears in informal phrases like 'a real, breathing person' to stress that someone is genuinely there. So you might say: Grandma is still alive (state), I have no living grandparents (before noun), or there were live crabs in the tank (still moving in the tank).

alive ↗living ↗livebreathing

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • keep something alive
  • stay alive
  • come alive
  • feel alive
  • buried alive
  • more dead than alive

Prepositions

  • alive to (something)
  • alive with (something)

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishModern English

The word goes back to Old English 'on life', literally 'in life' — a two-word phrase that slowly fused into the single adjective 'alive'. Because of this prepositional origin, 'alive' kept the behaviour of a phrase rather than a normal adjective: even today it can only sit after a verb, not directly before a noun. The same shape gave English other 'a-' words like 'asleep', 'awake', and 'afloat', all of which share the same predicative-only habit.