Lives — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb

Meaning & Definition of Lives

Lives (noun)

  1. a history of a person's life
  2. a member of the human race
  3. the period during which something exists, lasts, or is in progress

Lives (verb)

  1. to have a home
  2. to have life

Lives (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a history of a person's life

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

    similar: biographies, bios, memoirs
    related: autobiographies, hagiographies, psychobiographies, pathographies, tell-alls, chronicles, histories, pasts, stories, obituaries, character sketches, profiles

  2. a member of the human race

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

    similar: babies, beings, birds, bodies, bods (British), characters, cookies, creatures, customers, devils, ducks, eggs, faces, fish, guys, heads, human beings, humans, individuals, men, mortals, parties, people, personages, scouts, slobs, sorts, souls, specimens, stiffs, things, wights, sons of man
    related: hominids, homos, humanoids, brothers, fellowmen, fellows, neighbors, celebrities, personalities, selves, somebodies
    near: animals, beasties, beasts, brutes, critters

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

    "the Egyptian civilization had an extremely long life"

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

  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: civilizations, cultures, lifestyles, societies
    related: customs, manners, mores, values, folklores, heritages, legacies, traditions, subcultures, subsocieties

Lives (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to have a home

    "he lives next door to the hospital"

    similar: abides, dwells, resides
    related: lodges, settles, stays, frequents, hangs (at), haunts, visits, cohabits, inhabits, occupies, peoples, populates, leases, rents, sublets, tenants

  2. to have life

    "Socrates was a philosopher who lived in ancient Greece"

    similar: breathes, exists, is, subsists
    related: abides, continues, endures, holds on, holds up, keeps (on), kicks, lasts, leads, persists, rules, runs on, survives, moves, flourishes, prospers, thrives
    opposite: departs, dies, expires, passes away, perishes, succumbs
    near: disappears, evaporates, vanishes, ceases, desists, discontinues, ends, quits, stops, abates, dies (down), ebbs, lets up, moderates, subsides, wanes

Related Entry: Life (noun)

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

  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: Live (verb)

Live is a different word from Lives. The synonyms below are for live, not for lives.

  1. to have a home

    "he lives next door to the hospital"

    similar: abide, dwell, reside
    related: lodge, settle, stay, frequent, hang (at), haunt, visit, cohabit, inhabit, occupy, people, populate, lease, rent, sublet, tenant

  2. to have life

    "Socrates was a philosopher who lived in ancient Greece"

    similar: be, breathe, exist, subsist
    related: abide, continue, endure, hold on, hold up, keep (on), kick, last, lead, persist, rule, run on, survive, move, flourish, prosper, thrive
    opposite: depart, die, expire, pass away, perish, succumb
    near: disappear, evaporate, vanish, cease, desist, discontinue, end, quit, stop, abate, die (down), ebb, let up, moderate, subside, wane

Related Entry: Lives up to (phrase)

Lives up to is a different word from Lives. The synonyms below are for lives up to, not for lives.

  1. to give steadfast support to

    "Once elected, she lived up to her campaign promise to balance the state's budget."

    similar: adheres (to), hews (to), keeps (to), stands by, sticks (to or with), abides by, holds to
    related: cleaves (to), advocates, backs, champions, confirms, defends, endorses, espouses, supports, upholds, accepts, adopts, cherishes, cultivates, embraces, follows, fosters, heeds, backstops, bolsters, boosts, buttresses, enforces, reinforces
    opposite: defects (from)
    near: abandons, abnegates, deserts, forsakes, gives up, relinquishes, spurns, surrenders, abjures, recalls, recants, reconsiders, reneges, renounces, retracts, revokes, takes back, unsays, withdraws, controverts, disagrees (with), disproves, disputes, rebuts, refutes, contradicts, denies, disavows, disclaims, disowns, gainsays, negates, negatives, repudiates, backs down, backs off, backtracks

Related Entry: Lives with (phrase)

Lives with is a different word from Lives. The synonyms below are for lives with, not for lives.

  1. to put up with (something painful or difficult)

    "She was forced to live with the mistakes she had made."

    similar: abides, absorbs, accepts, bears, bides (chiefly dialect), brooks, countenances, endures, goes, hacks, handles, meets, pockets, stands, sticks out, stomachs, supports, sustains, sweats out, takes, tolerates, wears (British), lumps (it), stands for, toughs it out
    related: allows, permits, suffers, swallows, reconciles (to), acquiesces, agrees (with or to), assents (to), capitulates, consents (to), respects, submits (to), yields (to)
    near: declines, dismisses, refuses, rejects, repudiates, spurns, turns down, combats, contests, fights, opposes, resists, avoids, bypasses, circumvents, dodges, eludes, escapes, evades, misses, abstains (from), forbears, refrains (from)

Related Entry: Live up to (phrase)

Live up to is a different word from Lives. The synonyms below are for live up to, not for lives.

  1. to give steadfast support to

    "Once elected, she lived up to her campaign promise to balance the state's budget."

    similar: adhere (to), hew (to), keep (to), stand by, stick (to or with), abide by, hold to
    related: cleave (to), advocate, back, champion, confirm, defend, endorse, espouse, support, uphold, accept, adopt, cherish, cultivate, embrace, follow, foster, heed, backstop, bolster, boost, buttress, enforce, reinforce
    opposite: defect (from)
    near: abandon, abnegate, desert, forsake, give up, relinquish, spurn, surrender, abjure, recall, recant, reconsider, renege, renounce, retract, revoke, take back, unsay, withdraw, controvert, disagree (with), disprove, dispute, rebut, refute, contradict, deny, disavow, disclaim, disown, gainsay, negate, negative, repudiate, back down, back off, backtrack

Related Entry: Live with (phrase)

Live with is a different word from Lives. The synonyms below are for live with, not for lives.

  1. to put up with (something painful or difficult)

    "She was forced to live with the mistakes she had made."

    similar: abide, absorb, accept, bear, bide (chiefly dialect), brook, countenance, endure, go, hack, handle, meet, pocket, stand, stick out, stomach, support, sustain, sweat out, take, tolerate, wear (British), lump (it), stand for, tough it out
    related: allow, permit, suffer, swallow, reconcile (to), acquiesce, agree (with or to), assent (to), capitulate, consent (to), respect, submit (to), yield (to)
    near: decline, dismiss, refuse, reject, repudiate, spurn, turn down, combat, contest, fight, oppose, resist, avoid, bypass, circumvent, dodge, elude, escape, evade, miss, abstain (from), forbear, refrain (from)

Related Entry: Half-lifes (noun)

Half-lifes is a different word from Lives. The synonyms below are for half-lifes, not for lives.

  1. as in times, durations

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

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Lives

The most common words with a similar meaning to Lives:

British: bods
biographies, bios, memoirs, babies, beings, birds, bodies, characters, cookies, creatures, customers, devils, ducks, eggs, faces, fish, guys, heads, human beings, humans, individuals, men, mortals, parties, people, personages, scouts, slobs, sorts, souls, specimens, stiffs, things, wights, continuances, dates, durations, life spans, lifetimes, runs

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Lives

Words with the opposite meaning of Lives:

departs, dies, expires, passes away, perishes, succumbs

Related Words for Lives

autobiographies, hagiographies, psychobiographies, pathographies, tell-alls, chronicles, histories, pasts, stories, obituaries, character sketches, profiles, hominids, homos, humanoids, brothers, fellowmen, fellows, neighbors, celebrities, personalities, selves, somebodies, spells, stretches, spans, tenures, terms, hitches, tours

Near Antonyms of Lives

animals, beasties, beasts, brutes, critters, disappears, evaporates, vanishes, ceases, desists, discontinues, ends, quits, stops, abates, dies (down), ebbs, lets up, moderates, subsides, wanes

Words & Phrases Containing Lives

Black Lives Matter, save lives, someone's memory lives on

Frequently Asked Questions about Lives

What does "Lives" mean?

"Lives" means a history of a person's life. As an a noun and a verb, it is defined as: a history of a person's life. It has 6 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Lives"?

Other words for "Lives" include biographies, bios, memoirs, babies, beings, birds, bodies and bods. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Lives" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Lives"?

There are 131 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Lives". Common alternatives include biographies, bios, memoirs, babies, beings, birds, bodies, bods, characters and cookies.

What is the opposite of "Lives"?

Antonyms of "Lives" include departs, dies, expires, passes away, perishes and succumbs. Near antonyms include animals, beasties, beasts and brutes.

How do you use "Lives" in a sentence?

Examples of "Lives" in a sentence: "a renowned historian who has written lives of several early presidents"; "an appalling number of lives were lost in the war"; "the Egyptian civilization had an extremely long life".

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

"Lives" can be used as a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

What is another word for "Lives" meaning "a history of a person's life"?

When "Lives" (noun) means a history of a person's life, synonyms include biographies, bios and memoirs.

What is another word for "Lives" meaning "a member of the human race"?

When "Lives" (noun) means a member of the human race, synonyms include babies, beings, birds, bodies, bods and characters.