Life — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun adjective /ˈlīf/

Meaning & Definition of Life

Life (noun)

  1. the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body
  2. a principle or force that is considered to underlie the distinctive quality of animate beings
  3. an organismic state characterized by capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli, and reproduction

Life (adjective)

  1. of or relating to animate being
  2. lifelong
  3. using a living model

Life (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. active strength of body or mind

    "even though he's 86 years old, he still shows a lot of life"

    similar: beans, bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go, ginger, go, gusto, hardihood, juice, moxie, oomph, pep, punch, sap, snap, starch, verve, vigor, vim, vinegar, vitality, zing, zip
    related: animal spirits, animation, briskness, jauntiness, liveliness, snappiness, spirit, spiritedness, sprightliness, spunk, spunkiness, vibrance, vibrancy, vivaciousness, vivacity, ardor, élan, fervor, fire, passion, zeal, main, metal, mettle, might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, stamina, strength, brawniness, fitness, hardiness, huskiness, sturdiness, virility, health, healthiness, soundness, verdure, wellness
    opposite: lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness, torpidity
    near: indolence, laziness, debilitation, debility, delicacy, disablement, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, impotency, infirmity, powerlessness, puniness, slightness, softness, tenderness, weakness, enervation, exhaustion, inanition, prostration

  2. a member of the human race

    "an appalling number of lives were lost in the war"

    similar: baby, being, bird, bod (British), body, character, cookie, creature, customer, devil, duck, egg, face, fish, guy, head, human, human being, individual, man, mortal, party, person, personage, scout, slob, sort, soul, specimen, stiff, thing, wight, son of man
    related: hominid, homo, humanoid, brother, fellow, fellowman, neighbor, celebrity, personality, self, somebody
    near: animal, beast, beastie, brute, critter

  3. the period during which something exists, lasts, or is in progress

    "the Egyptian civilization had an extremely long life"

    similar: continuance, date, duration, lifespan, lifetime, run, standing, time
    related: spell, stretch, span, tenure, term, hitch, tour, turn, half-life, age, longevity

  4. the way people live at a particular time and place

    "frontier life must have been rugged, exciting, challenging, and more than a little dangerous"

    similar: civilization, culture, lifestyle, society
    related: customs, manners, mores, values, folklore, heritage, legacy, tradition, subculture, subsociety

  5. a history of a person's life

    "a renowned historian who has written lives of several early presidents"

    similar: bio, biography, memoir
    related: autobiography, hagiography, psychobiography, pathography, tell-all, chronicle, history, past, story, obituary, character sketch, profile

Related Entry: Life-giving (adjective)

Life-giving is a different word from Life. The synonyms below are for life-giving, not for life.

  1. giving or having power to create or support life; essential to life

    "The sun provides life-giving energy."

    similar: conditioning, strengthening, bracing, cordial, invigorating, refreshing, rejuvenating, restorative, reviving, stimulating, stimulative, tonic, vital, vitalizing, animating, exhilarating, exhilarative, quickening, sharp, corrective, curative, curing, medicinal, rectifying, recuperative, reformative, reformatory, rehabilitative, remedial, remedying, reparative, therapeutic, beneficial, healthful, healthy, helpful, salubrious, salutary, wholesome
    opposite: deadening, debilitating, draining, enervating, enfeebling, exhausting, numbing, sapping, weakening, wearying, deleterious, injurious, pernicious, insalubrious, noxious, unhealthful, unhealthy, unwholesome

Related Entry: Life of Riley (phrase)

Life of Riley is a different word from Life. The synonyms below are for life of Riley, not for life.

  1. a situation or state of carefree comfort

    "They spent their summers sipping mimosas by the poolside, living the life of Riley."

    similar: beer and skittles, easy street, fun and games, hog heaven, picnic, bed of roses, the lap of luxury
    related: primrose path, heaven, paradise, utopia, American dream, good life, ease, relaxation, rest
    near: agony, hell, horror, misery, murder, nightmare, torment, torture

Related Entry: Life-and-death (adjective)

Life-and-death is a different word from Life. The synonyms below are for life-and-death, not for life.

  1. as in decisive, weighty

    similar: decisive, weighty, critical, crucial, key, pivotal, vital, basic, elementary, fundamental, essential, indispensable, instrumental, necessary, requisite, pressing, urgent
    opposite: inconsequential, insignificant, minor, trivial, unimportant

Related Entry: Life spans (noun)

Life spans is a different word from Life. The synonyms below are for life spans, not for life.

  1. the period during which something exists, lasts, or is in progress

    "I saw no need to pay more for a better-built computer that would just grow obsolete before the end of its life span"

    similar: continuances, dates, durations, lifetimes, lives, runs, standings, times
    related: spells, stretches, spans, tenures, terms, hitches, tours, turns, half-lifes, ages, longevities

Related Entry: Good life (noun)

Good life is a different word from Life. The synonyms below are for good life, not for life.

  1. a life marked by material wealth and comfort

    "vowed to live the good life if he ever won the lottery"

    similar: American dream
    related: dolce vita, easy street

Related Entry: Low-life (adjective)

Low-life is a different word from Life. The synonyms below are for low-life, not for life.

  1. belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank

    "photographs of the low-life residents of postwar Paris"

    similar: baseborn, common, humble, ignoble, inferior, low, lowborn, lower-class, lowly, lumpen, mean, plebeian, prole, proletarian, unwashed, vulgar
    related: bourgeois, middle-class, plain, poor, simple, working-class, déclassé, down-market, downscale
    opposite: aristocratic, blue-blooded, genteel, gentle, grand, great, high, highborn, highbred, lofty, noble, patrician, upper-class, upper-crust, wellborn
    near: eminent, illustrious, notable, prominent

Related Entry: Real-life (adjective)

Real-life is a different word from Life. The synonyms below are for real-life, not for life.

  1. happening in the real world rather than in a story

    "real-life problems"

    "a real-life drama"

    similar: authentic, bona fide, real-world, actual, concrete, de facto, effective, existent, factual, genuine, real, sure-enough, true, very, attested, authenticated, confirmed, demonstrated, established, proven, substantiated, valid, validated, verified, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, inescapable, irrefutable, undeniable, unquestionable, believable, convincing, literal, realistic, unmistakable, verifiable, absolute, certain, final, hard, objective, palpable, positive, substantial, tangible, authoritative, certifiable, certified
    opposite: alleged, assumed, reputed, supposed, conceived, envisaged, envisioned, imagined, pictured, visualized, chimerical, fabled, fanciful, fictional, fictitious, illusory, legendary, fabricated, fake, imaginary, invented, made-up, make-believe, pretend, romantic, abstract, symbolic, unreal, virtual, conjectural, hypothetical, ideal, inexistent, nonexistent, platonic, possible, potential, suppositional, theoretical

Related Entry: Half-life (noun)

Half-life is a different word from Life. The synonyms below are for half-life, not for life.

  1. as in time, duration

    similar: continuance, date, duration, life, lifespan, lifetime, run, standing, time, span, tenure, term, age, longevity, hitch, tour, turn, spell, stretch

Related Entry: Get (verb)

Get is a different word from Life. The synonyms below are for get, not for life.

  1. to acquire complete knowledge, understanding, or skill in

    "I'm not sure I ever got the new math"

    similar: learn, master, pick up, get the hang of
    related: apprehend, comprehend, grasp, know, understand, absorb, assimilate, digest, drink (in), imbibe, ascertain, descry, detect, determine, dig up, discern, discover, examine, find out, hear, hit (on or upon), run down, scare up, search (for), see, track (down), tumble (to), unearth, major (in), study, memorize
    opposite: unlearn
    near: forget, misunderstand, miss, overlook, disregard, ignore, neglect

  2. to become affected with (a disease or disorder)

    "don't cough on me—I don't want to get your cold"

    similar: catch, come down (with), contract, go down (with) (chiefly British), sicken (with), take
    related: break out (with), die (from), succumb (to), fail, languish, sink, waste (away), weaken, wilt, wither, worsen
    near: come back, gain, heal, mend, recoup, recover, recuperate, snap back, rally, rebound, recover (from), shake (off)

  3. to become the father of

    "Abraham was quite old when he got Isaac, his only son"

    similar: beget, father, sire
    related: multiply, procreate, propagate, reproduce, spawn, bear, engender, gender, generate, produce

  4. to cause (someone) to agree with a belief or course of action by using arguments or earnest requests

    "tried to get the mayor to let us stage the concert in the town square, but she refused"

    similar: argue, bring, bring around, convert, convince, gain, induce, move, persuade, prevail (on or upon), satisfy, talk (into), win (over)
    related: blandish, blarney, cajole, coax, entreat, exhort, fast-talk, urge, wheedle, allure, beguile, lead on, lure, seduce, snow, tempt, brainwash, overpersuade, incline, influence, prompt, sell, sway, attract, draw, entice, interest, chew over, converse, debate, discuss, dispute, hash (over), moot, reason (with)
    near: deter, discourage, dissuade, unsell

  5. to come upon after searching, study, or effort

    "redid the math problem until I got the right answer"

    similar: ascertain, descry, detect, determine, dig out, dig up, discover, dredge (up), ferret (out), find, find out, hit (on or upon), hunt (down or up), learn, locate, nose out, root (out), rout (out), rummage, run down, scare up, scout (up), track (down), turn up
    related: espy, sight, spot, look for, search (for or out), seek
    opposite: miss, overlook, pass over
    near: lose, mislay, misplace, misset

  6. to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts

    "continuously clearing your throat like that is starting to get to me"

    similar: aggravate, annoy, bother, bug, burn (up), chafe, eat, exasperate, frost, gall, grate, gripe, hack (off), irk, irritate, itch, nark (British), nettle, peeve, persecute, pique, put out, rasp, rile, ruffle, spite, vex, get one's goat, get on one's nerves, get to, rub the wrong way, set one's teeth on edge, stick in one's craw, wear on
    related: hassle, heckle, nag, inflame, provoke, rouse, badger, bait, bullyrag, devil, hagride, harass, harry, pester, plague, tease, anger, antagonize, enrage, incense, infuriate, madden, rankle, roil, agitate, discomfort, discompose, disquiet, distress, exercise, freak (out), fret, perturb, undo, unhinge, unsettle, upset, worry, affront, insult, miff, offend, outrage
    near: appease, conciliate, mollify, oblige, pacify, placate, propitiate, delight, gladden, gratify, please, satisfy, assure, cheer, comfort, console, content, quiet, reassure, solace, soothe

  7. to eventually have as a state or quality

    "it's going to get colder as winter approaches"

    similar: become, come, go, grow, run, turn, wax
    related: alter, change, metamorphose, modify, mutate, transfigure, transform, transmute
    near: abide, be, continue, linger, remain, stay

  8. to receive as return for effort

    "got an A on his final paper"

    similar: acquire, attain, bag, bring in, capture, carry, come by, draw, earn, gain, garner, knock down, land, make, obtain, procure, pull down, realize, reap, secure, win
    related: clear, gross, net, accomplish, achieve, notch (up), score, accumulate, amass, rack up, catch, pick up, annex, occupy, take over, reacquire, reattain, recapture, regain, remake
    opposite: forfeit, lose
    near: accord, give, grant, pay, give up, hand over, part (with), relinquish, surrender, yield

  9. to have a clear idea of

    "she was speaking so fast—did you get what she said?"

    similar: appreciate, apprehend, assimilate, behold, catch, catch on (to), cognize, compass, comprehend, conceive, cotton (to or on to), decipher, decode, dig, discern, grasp, grok, intuit, know, make, make out, perceive, recognize, register, savvy, see, seize, sense, tumble (to), twig, understand, pick up on
    related: absorb, digest, take in, realize, fathom, penetrate, pierce
    opposite: miss
    near: misapprehend, misconceive, misconstrue, misinterpret, misperceive, misread, mistake, misunderstand

  10. to take physical control or possession of (something) suddenly or forcibly

    "the defense tackled the running back and got the ball"

    similar: bag, capture, catch, collar, cop (slang), corral, glom, grab, grapple, hook, land, nab, nail, net, nobble (British slang), rap, seize, snag, snap (up), snare, snatch, trap, take hold (of)
    related: glove, halter, lasso, rope, apprehend, arrest, detain, bay, corner, clasp, clutch, fasten (on), fist, grasp, grip, hold, latch (on or onto), secure, rend, wrest, enmesh, ensnare, entangle, entrap, mesh, abduct, kidnap, spirit (away or off)
    opposite: miss
    near: discharge, free, liberate, release, drop, loosen, unhand

  11. to leave a place often for another

    "will get away to the Bahamas for a vacation"

    similar: bail, bail out, begone, book (slang), bug off, bug out, bugger off (British slang), buzz (off), clear off (chiefly British), clear out, cut out, depart, dig out, exit, get off, go, go off, move, pack (up or off), part, peel off, pike (out or off), pull out, push off, push on, quit, run along, sally (forth), scarper (British), shove (off), step (along), take off, vamoose, walk out, beat it, hit the road, pull stakes, take a hike, take a powder
    related: set out, start, strike out, abscond, decamp, escape, evacuate, flee, fly, get out, mizzle (chiefly British), run away, scat, scram, skip, go out, light out, step out, abandon, desert, forsake, vacate, emigrate, adjourn, remove, retire, retreat, withdraw
    opposite: arrive, come, show up, turn up
    near: abide, dwell, lodge, remain, settle, stay, tarry, approach, close, near, hit, land, reach

  12. to achieve a victory over

    "you may have won this game, but I'll get you next time"

    similar: beat, best, conquer, defeat, dispatch, do down (British), get around, lick, master, overbear, overcome, overmatch, prevail (over), skunk, stop, subdue, surmount, take, trim, triumph (over), upend, win (against), worst, get the better of, knock for a loop
    related: sweep, edge (out), nose out, pip (British), annihilate, blow away, blow out, bomb, break, bury, clobber, cream, crush, drub, finish, flatten, overwhelm, rout, shellac, skin, slaughter, smoke (slang), snow under, thrash, trounce, upset, wallop, wax (slang), whip, cap, excel, flourish, score, succeed, knock off, knock over, overpower, overthrow, subjugate, unseat, vanquish, ace (out), better, eclipse, exceed, outdistance, outdo, outfight, outshine, outstrip, overtop, surpass, top, transcend
    opposite: lose (to)
    near: fall, give up, go down, go under, collapse, fail, flop, flunk, fold, wash out

  13. to transmit information or requests to

    "I've been trying all day, but I can't get either of them in order to ask the question"

    similar: address, communicate (with), contact, reach, get hold of, get in touch with, touch base (with)
    related: get through (to), acquaint, advise, apprise, brief, clue, enlighten, familiarize, fill in, inform, instruct, notify, tell, wise (up), buzz, call, phone, ring (up) (chiefly British), telephone, keep up (with)

  14. to put to death deliberately

    "I'll get you if you talk to the cops, the loan shark warned"

    similar: assassinate, bump off, croak (slang), dispatch, do in, execute, ice (slang), knock off, liquidate, murder, neutralize, off (slang), put away, rub out, slay, snuff, take out, terminate, whack (slang), do away with
    related: blow away, shoot, shoot down, blot out, carry off, claim, cut down, destroy, fell, kill, smite, zap, butcher, massacre, mow (down), slaughter, annihilate, eliminate, eradicate, exterminate, wipe out
    near: animate, raise, restore, resurrect, resuscitate, revive

  15. to throw into a state of mental uncertainty

    "what gets me is why she would do such a weird thing"

    similar: addle, baffle, bamboozle, beat, befog, befuddle, bemuse, bewilder, buffalo, confound, confuse, discombobulate, disorient, flummox, fox, fuddle, gravel, maze, muddle, muddy, mystify, perplex, pose, puzzle, vex, blow one's mind, go to one's head
    related: stick, stump, weird out, abash, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, embarrass, faze, fluster, mortify, nonplus, rattle, agitate, bother, chagrin, discomfort, discompose, dismay, disquiet, distress, disturb, perturb, stun, unhinge, unsettle, upset, beguile, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fool, gull, hoax, hoodwink, humbug, misguide, mislead, snow, string along, take in, trick
    near: assure, reassure, satisfy, enlighten, inform

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Life

The most common words with a similar meaning to Life:

British: bod
beans, bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go, ginger, go, gusto, hardihood, juice, moxie, oomph, pep, punch, sap, snap, starch, verve, vigor, vim, vinegar, vitality, zing, zip, baby, being, bird, body, character, cookie, creature, customer, devil, duck, egg

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Life

Words with the opposite meaning of Life:

lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness, torpidity

Related Words for Life

animal spirits, animation, briskness, jauntiness, liveliness, snappiness, spirit, spiritedness, sprightliness, spunk, spunkiness, vibrance, vibrancy, vivaciousness, vivacity, ardor, élan, fervor, fire, passion, zeal, main, metal, mettle, might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, stamina

Near Antonyms of Life

indolence, laziness, debilitation, debility, delicacy, disablement, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, impotency, infirmity, powerlessness, puniness, slightness, softness, tenderness, weakness, enervation, exhaustion, inanition, prostration, animal, beast, beastie, brute, critter

Word Forms of Life

Inflections: lives

Origin & Etymology of Life

Middle English lif, from Old English līf; akin to Old English libban to live live

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Life

Words & Phrases Containing Life

life-affirming, life-and-death, life belt, life buoy, life-care, life-changing, life coach

Frequently Asked Questions about Life

What does "Life" mean?

"Life" means the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body. As an a noun and an adjective, it is defined as: the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body. It has 5 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Life"?

Other words for "Life" include beans, bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy and esprit. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Life" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Life"?

There are 163 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Life". Common alternatives include beans, bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas and get-up-and-go.

What is the opposite of "Life"?

Antonyms of "Life" include lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness and torpidity. Near antonyms include indolence, laziness, debilitation and debility.

How do you use "Life" in a sentence?

Examples of "Life" in a sentence: "even though he's 86 years old, he still shows a lot of life"; "an appalling number of lives were lost in the war"; "the Egyptian civilization had an extremely long life".

Is "Life" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Life" can be used as a noun and an adjective, depending on the context.

Is "Life" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Life" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Life"?

"Life" is pronounced /ˈlīf/.