əˈlīv adjective
Etymology: Middle English alive, on live, from Old English on līfe, from on + līfe, dative of līf life — more at life
1.
a. : having life : not dead or inanimate : living ; especially : marked by a state in which the organs perform their vital functions
so good to be alive
a large number were still alive after the explosion
— usually used predicatively or postpositively
b. : living — used for emphasis after the noun
he was the proudest boy alive
“Man alive !” he said. “You don't really mean that”
sakes alive
2.
a. : still in existence, force, or operation : effective at least to a degree : not dead, defunct, or extinct : existent , active
small farms kept alive by judicious husbanding of the lake waters — American Guide Series: California
keep alive the conception of morals he preached — Havelock Ellis
b. : still in use : current to a degree : still exerting force or influence
neither of these works is much alive today — Times Literary Supplement
c. bowls : in play : not dead
3.
a. : marked by ready perception of : knowing or realizing the existence of : comprehending and vigilant about or appreciative of
becoming alive to the folly of what he had been doing — Samuel Butler
consciousness of this danger … made her … alive to the risks of an undesirable marriage — John Galsworthy
b. : quick to note or feel : readily impressed or influenced by : notably aware of, susceptible or sensitive to
dreadfully alive to nervous terrors — Charles Lamb
veterans are as fully alive to the romance … of newspaper work as any cub — Stanley Walker
4.
a. : marked by alertness, activity, vitality, energy, animation, or briskness : not static, torpid, sluggish, or lifeless
not sufficiently alive to feel the tang of sense nor yet to be moved by thought — John Dewey
the alive promise of spring — H.D.Skidmore
b. : communicating a feeling of life, especially of blended verisimilitude, activity, verve, and interestingness
making the commonplaces of American culture … come alive through his plain words — Babette Deutsch
5. : filled , thronged, teeming : marked by much pulsating, stirring life, animation, or activity
the sea was alive with large whales — Herman Melville
this decade was alive with controversy and intellectual combat — American Guide Series: Ind.
6.
a. : electrically connected to a source of voltage or electrically charged : having a potential different from that of the earth or of the conducting ground of a radio or automobile
b. : not inactive, inactivated, shut off, or dead : operating and functioning : transmitting, broadcasting, recording
despite the hurricane the phone was still alive
7. : live 10
Synonyms: see aware