Adjacent Words

Living definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LIV'ING, ppr. [from live.]
1. Dwelling; residing; existing; subsisting; having life or the vital functions in operation; not dead.
2. a. Issuing continually from the earth; running; flowing; as a living spring or fountain; opposed to stagnant.
3. a. Producing action, animation and vigor; quickening; as a living principle; a living faith.
LIV'ING, n. He or those who are alive; usually with a plural signification; as in the land of the living.
The living will lay it to his heart. Ecclesiastes 7.
LIV'ING, n.
1. Means of subsistence; estate.
He divided to them his living. Luke 15.
She of her want, did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Mark 41.
2. Power of continuing life. There is no living with a scold.
There is no living without trusting some body or other in some cases.
3. Livelihood. He made a living by his occupation. The woman spins for a living.
4. The benefice of a clergyman. He lost his living by non-conformity.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: pertaining to living persons; "within living memory"
2: true to life; lifelike; "the living image of her mother"
3: (informal) absolute; "she is a living doll"; "scared the living daylights out of them"; "beat the living hell out of him"
4: still in existence; "the Wollemi pine found in Australia is a surviving specimen of a conifer thought to have been long extinct and therefore known as a living fossil"; "the only surviving frontier blockhouse in Pennsylvania" [syn: surviving, living]
5: still in active use; "a living language"
6: (used of minerals or stone) in its natural state and place; not mined or quarried; "carved into the living stone"; n
1: the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities; "he could no longer cope with the complexities of life" [syn: life, living]
2: people who are still living; "save your pity for the living" [ant: dead]
3: the condition of living or the state of being alive; "while there's life there's hope"; "life depends on many chemical and physical processes" [syn: animation, life, living, aliveness]
4: the financial means whereby one lives; "each child was expected to pay for their keep"; "he applied to the state for support"; "he could no longer earn his own livelihood" [syn: support, keep, livelihood, living, bread and butter, sustenance]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: before 12th century 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 Journal> b. live II,2a 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 II. noun Date: 14th century 1. the condition of being alive 2. a. means of subsistence ; livelihood <earning a living> b. archaic estate, property c. British benefice 1 3. conduct or manner of life <the collegiate way of living — J. B. Conant>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 a livelihood or means of maintenance (made my living as a journalist; what does she do for a living?). 2 Brit. Eccl. a position as a vicar or rector with an income or property. --adj. 1 contemporary; now existent (the greatest living poet). 2 (of a likeness or image of a person) exact. 3 (of a language) still in vernacular use. 4 (of water) perennially flowing. 5 (of rock etc.) = LIVE(2) 5. Phrases and idioms: living death a state of hopeless misery. living-room a room for general day use. within living memory within the memory of people still living.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Live Live, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Lived; p. pr. & vb. n. Living.] [OE. liven, livien, AS. libban, lifian; akin to OS. libbian, D. leven, G. leben, OHG. leb[=e]n, Dan. leve, Sw. lefva, Icel. lifa to live, to be left, to remain, Goth. liban to live; akin to E. leave to forsake, and life, Gr. liparei^n to persist, liparo`s oily, shining, sleek, li`pos fat, lard, Skr. lip to anoint, smear; -- the first sense prob. was, to cleave to, stick to; hence, to remain, stay; and hence, to live.] 1. To be alive; to have life; to have, as an animal or a plant, the capacity of assimilating matter as food, and to be dependent on such assimilation for a continuance of existence; as, animals and plants that live to a great age are long in reaching maturity. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will . . . lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live. --Ezek. xxxvii. 5, 6. 2. To pass one's time; to pass life or time in a certain manner, as to habits, conduct, or circumstances; as, to live in ease or affluence; to live happily or usefully. O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions! --Ecclus. xli. 1. 3. To make one's abiding place or home; to abide; to dwell; to reside. Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. --Gen. xlvii. 28. 4. To be or continue in existence; to exist; to remain; to be permanent; to last; -- said of inanimate objects, ideas, etc. Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues We write in water. --Shak. 5. To enjoy or make the most of life; to be in a state of happiness. What greater curse could envious fortune give Than just to die when I began to live? --Dryden. 6. To feed; to subsist; to be nourished or supported; -- with on; as, horses live on grass and grain. 7. To have a spiritual existence; to be quickened, nourished, and actuated by divine influence or faith. The just shall live by faith. --Gal. iii. ll. 8. To be maintained in life; to acquire a livelihood; to subsist; -- with on or by; as, to live on spoils. Those who live by labor. --Sir W. Temple. 9. To outlast danger; to float; -- said of a ship, boat, etc.; as, no ship could live in such a storm. A strong mast that lived upon the sea. --Shak. To live out, to be at service; to live away from home as a servant. [U. S.] To live with. (a) To dwell or to be a lodger with. (b) To cohabit with; to have intercourse with, as male with female.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Living Liv"ing, n. 1. The state of one who, or that which, lives; lives; life; existence. ``Health and living.'' --Shak. 2. Manner of life; as, riotous living; penurious living; earnest living. `` A vicious living.'' --Chaucer. 3. Means of subsistence; sustenance; estate. She can spin for her living. --Shak. He divided unto them his living. --Luke xv. 12. 4. Power of continuing life; the act of living, or living comfortably. There is no living without trusting somebody or other in some cases. --L' Estrange. 5. The benefice of a clergyman; an ecclesiastical charge which a minister receives. [Eng.] He could not get a deanery, a prebend, or even a living --Macaulay. Livng room, the room most used by the family.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Laving Lav"ing, a. [From Live, v. i.] 1. Being alive; having life; as, a living creature. 2. Active; lively; vigorous; -- said esp. of states of the mind, and sometimes of abstract things; as, a living faith; a living principle. `` Living hope. '' --Wyclif. 3. Issuing continually from the earth; running; flowing; as, a living spring; -- opposed to stagnant. 4. Producing life, action, animation, or vigor; quickening. ``Living light.'' --Shak. 5. Ignited; glowing with heat; burning; live. Then on the living coals wine they pour. --Dryden. Living force. See Vis viva, under Vis. Living gale (Naut.), a heavy gale. Living rock or stone, rock in its native or original state or location; rock not quarried. `` I now found myself on a rude and narrow stairway, the steps of which were cut out of the living rock.'' --Moore. The living, those who are alive, or one who is alive.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(livings) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. The work that you do for a living is the work that you do in order to earn the money that you need. Father never talked about what he did for a living... He earns his living doing all kinds of things. N-COUNT: usu sing 2. You use living when you are talking about the quality of people's daily lives. Olivia has always been a model of healthy living. ...the stresses of urban living. N-UNCOUNT: with supp 3. You use living to talk about the places where people relax when they are not working. The spacious living quarters were on the second floor... The study links the main living area to the kitchen. ADJ: ADJ n 4. The living are people who are alive, rather than people who have died. The young man is dead. We have only to consider the living. ? dead N-PLURAL: the N 5. in living memory: see memory

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Existing, live, alive. 2. Quickening, active, lively. II. n. 1. Livelihood, maintenance, support, subsistence, keeping, estate. 2. Benefice, ecclesiastical living. 3. Mode of life, course of life, manner of life.

Moby Thesaurus

TLC, abiding, ablaze, abode, aboveground, active, acute, advowson, afire, aflame, aflicker, aggressive, aglow, alight, alimony, alive, alive and kicking, among the living, animal spirits, animate, animate existence, animated, animation, ardent, around, being, being alive, benefice, biological, biotic, birth, blazing, bread, bread and butter, breathing, brisk, burning, candent, candescent, capable of life, care, care of souls, charge, cohabitation, comburent, commorancy, commorant, conflagrant, conscious, curacy, cure, current, daily bread, dwelling, dynamic, economic support, endowed with life, endowment, energetic, enlivened, enterprising, enthusiastic, existence, existent, existing, extant, faithful, flagrant, flaming, flaring, flickering, forceful, forcible, full of pep, fuming, glebe, glowing, go-go, guttering, habitancy, habitation, having life, hearty, ignescent, ignited, immortality, impetuous, in a blaze, in a glow, in being, in effect, in existence, in flames, in force, in residence, in the flesh, incandescent, incisive, incumbency, inflamed, inhabitancy, inhabitation, inhabiting, inspirited, instinct with life, intense, keen, keep, kindled, kinetic, life, lifelike, lifetime, live, livelihood, liveliness, lively, living in, lodging, long life, long-lived, longevity, lusty, maintenance, manna, meat, mettlesome, mothering, natural, nesting, nourishment, nurture, occupancy, occupation, on fire, on foot, operative, organic, organized, peppy, physiological, prelacy, present, prevalent, price support, provision, quick, realistic, rectory, reeking, remaining, residence, residency, resident, residentiary, residing, robust, salt, scintillant, scintillating, smacking, smoking, smoldering, snappy, sojourning, spanking, sparking, speaking, spirited, spriteliness, squatting, staying, staying over, stopping, strenuous, strong, subsidization, subsidy, subsistence, subsistent, subsisting, subvention, support, sustainment, sustenance, sustentation, take-charge, take-over, tenacious of life, tenancy, tender loving care, to the life, trenchant, true to life, true to nature, under the sun, unextinguished, unquenched, upkeep, very much alive, viability, viable, vibrant, vicarage, vigorous, vital, vitality, vivacious, vivacity, vivid, vivified, zestful, zesty, zippy, zoetic