Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Full of life and energy; vigorous: a lively baby.
- adj. Full of spirit; gay and animated: a lively tune.
- adj. Marked by animated intelligence: a lively discussion.
- adj. Invigorating; refreshing.
- adj. Effervescent; sparkling.
- adj. Keen; brisk: gave the kitchen floor a lively sweeping.
- adj. Rebounding readily upon impact; resilient: a lively tennis ball. See Synonyms at active.
- adv. With energy or vigor; briskly: Step lively!
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Living; endowed with or manifesting life; hence, from a living source; life-given.
- Lifelike; representing or resembling life or reality; real; vivid; forcible: as, a lively imitation of nature.
- Full of life or energy; active; vigorous; vivacious; brisk; alert: applied to persons or things: as, a lively child; lively faith.
- Animated; spirited; sprightly; gay: as, a lively dance; lively conversation.
- Fresh; vivid; bright: said of colors and tints.
- Riding the sea buoyantly: said of a ship or boat.
- In a lifelike manner; with the appearance of reality; semblably.
- With life or animation; energetically; vigorously; briskly: as, to act lively.
- In golf, base-ball, and similar games, elastic: applied to a ball possessing special elasticity.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Endowed with or manifesting life; living.
- adj. Brisk; vivacious; active.
- adj. Gay; airy; animated; spirited.
- adj. Representing life; lifelike.
- adj. Bright; vivid; glowing; strong; vigorous.
- adv. In a brisk, active, or animated manner; briskly; vigorously.
- adv. With strong resemblance of life.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. elastic; rebounds readily
- adj. filled with events or activity
- adj. full of spirit
- adj. quick and energetic
- adj. full of zest or vigor
- adj. full of life and energy
Etymologies
- Middle English lifli, from Old English līflīc, from līf, life; see leip- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“Ruckus's Selina Lo is what we call a lively interview subject.”
“Keeping our brains lively is a perfect task for relationships.”
The Huffington Post: Wendy Strgar: Dealing With a Middle-Aged Brain
“Any sport or outdoor activity provides the perfect chance to engage in lively conversation, plus the added bonus of keeping you fit.”
“We expect the readers to rivet in lively, nonetheless polite discourse.”
Brazil's top court halts boy's return to US dad | Bryan/College ...
“New York, as well as certain lively streets in Manhattan.”
“NASA should be involved in lively public discussion rather than worrying about being letter perfect and authoritative. another spacer”
Obama Policies on Transparency, Openness, and Participation - and NASA - NASA Watch
“A movement to pardon Suharto has resulted in lively debate and protests from those who believe doing so would dishonor the dead murdered by his regime.”
“Al – Maamun by day and Khadijah by night; and, by Allah, never saw I among men the like of Al – Maamun nor among women have I ever set eyes on the like of Khadijah; no, nor on any that came near her in lively wit and pleasant speech!”
“To "Luke," who has added his voice here numerous times and engages in lively but civil discourse from the other side of the aisle.”
“And the impressively imagined world of the novel is tricked out in lively prose.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘lively’.
-
Fairylike
fairylike, enchanted, pixieish, pixyish, impish, mischievous, fluttery, magical, bewitching, enchanting, fey, otherworldly and 126 more...
-
Describing People
eye, hair, mouth, nose, tooth, head, face, arm, hand, finger, lip, leg and 212 more...
-
Happy
joyous, jovial, glad, merry, delightful, ecstatic, cheerful, euphoria, jolly, lively, upbeat, pleasant and 1 more...
onursaka lively is not an adverb according to manhattan gmat. use in a lively manner. it is an adjective. Jan 27, 2012