lifelike

lifelike — adjective

1. Something that looks so close to the real person, animal, or object it represent

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

Something that looks so close to the real person, animal, or object it represents that you could almost believe it is real.

Example

Fans tried to take selfies with the singer's lifelike wax figure.

attributive use: lifelike wax figure

Antonia's portrait of her grandmother looked so lifelike I almost said hello.

Common collocations
  • lifelike statue
  • lifelike portrait
  • lifelike doll
  • lifelike robot
  • lifelike wax figure
  • lifelike appearance
  • lifelike detail
  • look lifelike
  • seem lifelike
  • so lifelike that...
Synonyms
  • realistic

    The most common general term; 'realistic' can also describe an artistic style or approach, while 'lifelike' focuses specifically on visual resemblance.

  • true-to-life

    Slightly informal; used mainly for descriptions, stories, or images that match real experience closely.

  • naturalistic

    More formal and technical; often used in art criticism or biology for representations that imitate nature in detail.

  • vivid

    Focuses on brightness, clarity, and emotional impact rather than exact visual copying.

Antonyms
  • unrealistic

    The most direct antonym; describes something that does not resemble real life.

  • artificial

    Focuses on the man-made, unnatural quality rather than the lack of resemblance.

Usage Note

Used especially of sculptures, paintings, models, dolls, special effects, or other copies. It is not used to describe living people or animals themselves.

Common Mistakes

The real cat was so lifelike.
The toy cat was so lifelike.
'lifelike' describes a copy or representation, not the actual living thing.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe something that resembles real life, but they differ in scope and register. 'Realistic' is the broadest term — it can describe a painting, a film, a goal, or even someone's attitude, and it does not demand exact visual copying. 'Lifelike' is narrower: it always implies a close physical or visual match, especially for statues, portraits, dolls, or special effects. 'True-to-life' is more informal and often used for stories, descriptions, or images that capture everyday experience faithfully. 'Naturalistic' belongs to a more formal or technical register, commonly used in art history and biology for representations that imitate nature in fine detail. 'Vivid' emphasises brightness and emotional impact rather than accuracy. A sculpture can be lifelike (you could mistake it for a real person) and also naturalistic (it follows natural proportions), but a dream sequence in a film might be vivid without being lifelike at all.

realistic ↗true-to-lifenaturalisticvivid ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • extremely lifelike
  • uncannily lifelike
  • remarkably lifelike
  • so lifelike

Phrases

  • so lifelike that
  • looks lifelike
  • lifelike quality

Prepositions

  • lifelike in appearance

Etymology

EnglishEnglish

Formed by combining the nouns 'life' and 'like' (meaning 'similar to'). First recorded in English in the late 1700s. Early uses were mainly about portraits and sculptures that captured the living appearance of a person.