Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Discolored, as from a bruise; black-and-blue.
- adj. Ashen or pallid: a face livid with shock.
- adj. Extremely angry; furious.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Black and blue,like a contusion. The term is applied, with the strong exaggeration usually characterizing the use of color-names, to the color of a person “black in the face” from strangulation, or having a cold, death-like complexion from rage, fear, or suffering; or to a light which imparts a death-like aspect to the face. Thus, a face illuminated by the yellow monochromatic light produced by the burning of an alcoholic solution of common salt is said to present a livid appearance.
- In zoology, pale purplish-brown, more or less translucent, resembling the color of a bruised surface of flesh.
Wiktionary
- adj. Furiously angry.
- adj. Having a dark, bluish appearance.
- adj. Pallid.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Black and blue; grayish blue; of a lead color; discolored, as flesh may be from a contusion.
- adj. Extremely angry; enraged; infuriated.
- adj. Pallid; ashen; -- of the skin.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. discolored by coagulation of blood beneath the skin
- adj. furiously angry
- adj. anemic looking from illness or emotion
- adj. (of a light) imparting a deathlike luminosity
Etymologies
- Middle English livide, from Old French, from Latin līvidus, from līvēre, to be bluish; see sleiə- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“The word livid has so long been associated with anger that it has lost its coloration and now means “infuriated.””
Simon & Schuster: The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time
“Another thing that makes me crazy and livid is the workshop teachers who pass themselves off as professionals and experts when really they've never worked in the field they're teaching about.”
“Whereas a Formula 1 car can crash at high speed, leaving the driver uninjured but out of the race, a cyclist who falls from his bike during a stage will almost certainly just get on a fresh bike, covered in livid cuts and bruises.”
11 Reasons to Love Le Tour « We Don't Count Your Own Visits To Your Blog
“One woman who attended, recalling a livid protester with a gun stuck into his belt, said it crossed her mind that Faku might be shot.”
“I'm livid, which is the only reason I'd talk about it.”
“The callers were "livid," said Flattery, who has sent the medals to the FBI in Detroit.”
“Armstrong himself said the group was "livid" with the lengthy seventh stage Friday that concluded with a dangerous and steep descent through the rain.”
“Lord Mandelson was reportedly 'livid' at Gordon's handiwork.”
“His father has said he is "livid" with Ricks, who had been a trusted teacher and friend.”
The Washington Post: Former Manassas teacher sentenced for molestation
“The e-mails also indicate that President George W. Bush's White House counsel, Harriet Miers, hadn't been informed of the tapes 'destruction and was "livid" to find out later.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘livid’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Words
phantasmagoria, eviscerate, avast, simulacrum, varicose, oblique, gestalt, ersatz, vernal, vivace, stellate, synecdoche and 314 more...
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3/4 year Vocab List
garbled, verbose, behoove, runt, douse, stipulate, condolence, incongruous, mundane, euphemism, brusque, labyrinth and 96 more...
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3/4 year Vocab List
lackluster, reprimand, loathe, abhor, willful, ample, tremulous, ominous, subtle, rescind, redundant, pretentious and 96 more...
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beyond pale
Words meaning or invoking the different aspects of pale.
Not just colour, but also the ideas of impermanence, illness, weakness. (Just not the two noun forms – a thin strip of metal or woo...pale, pallid, wan, light, misty, ethereal, cream, dim, white, thin, waning, colourless and 60 more...
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emo words
feelings...blah, blah, blah, feelings...
forsaken, anguish, angst, sorrowful, dejected, depressed, disconsolate, heartbroken, genial, chipper, inadequate, helpless and 58 more...
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Do More Than Hate
A list of words for describing dislike, reproval or criticism.
belabor, malevolent, reprobate, ire, anger, rage, fury, choler, indignance, grame, scorn, geck and 23 more...
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edbert's list
Random first list words
cathartic, wordy, fortuitous, loquacious, indignation, troubador, inundate, undulate, douchebag, douchebaggery, livid, leery and 4 more...
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mycological hues
rubescent, lutescent, cinereous, avellaneous, fuscous, fulvous, sordid, lurid, livid, ochre, ochraceous, vinaceous and 6 more...
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Words Made Of Roman Numerals
dividivi, cimicic, civic, civil, idic, dill, livid, mild, ilicic, vivid, clim, imidic and 43 more...
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My First List
Words added to mark occasions of our lives
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Vocab #9
loathe, reprimand, lackluster, caustic, wrest, livid, lucid, meticulous, mar, fervor
Telofy “Stop! That is not spoken correcitically.�? – The Caterpillar Aug 15, 2009
sosheshall exactically!! Aug 15, 2009
born2badored I get livid at people who are rulesy, officious, or downright stubborn in the face of good advice. I use bad grammer beacuse I WANT to, not beacuse I can't help It.
"So they say you're trouble boy
Because you like to destroy
All the things that bring idiots joy
Well what's wrong with a little destruction"
please don't be a pedant Dec 6, 2006