Half-alive
[uh-lahyv] /əˈlaɪv/
adjective
1.
having ; ; existing; not dead or lifeless.
2.
living (used for emphasis):
the proudest man alive.
3.
in a state of action; in force or operation; active:
to keep hope alive.
4.
full of energy and spirit; :
Grandmother’s more alive than most of her contemporaries.
5.
having the quality of life; vivid; vibrant:
The room was alive with color.
6.
Electricity. 2 (def 17).
Idioms
7.
alive to, alert or sensitive to; aware of:
City planners are alive to the necessity of revitalizing deteriorating neighborhoods.
8.
alive with, filled with living things; swarming; teeming:
The room was alive with mosquitoes.
9.
look alive!, pay attention! move quickly!:
Look alive! We haven’t got all day.
/əˈlaɪv/
adjective (postpositive)
1.
(of people, animals, plants, etc) living; having life
2.
in existence; active: they kept hope alive, the tradition was still alive
3.
(immediately postpositive and usually used with a superlative) of those living; now living: the happiest woman alive
4.
full of life; lively: she was wonderfully alive for her age
5.
(usually foll by with) animated: a face alive with emotion
6.
(foll by to) aware (of); sensitive (to)
7.
(foll by with) teeming (with): the mattress was alive with fleas
8.
(electronics) another word for live2 (sense 11)
9.
alive and kicking, (of a person) active and in good health
10.
look alive!, hurry up! get busy!
adj.
c.1200, from Old English on life “in living.” The fuller form on live was still current 17c. Alive and kicking “alert, vigorous,” attested from 1859; “The allusion is to a child in the womb after quickening” [Farmer]. Used emphatically, especially with man; e.g.:
[A]bout a thousand gentlemen having bought his almanacks for this year, merely to find what he said against me, at every line they read they would lift up their eyes, and cry out betwixt rage and laughter, “they were sure no man alive ever writ such damned stuff as this.” [Jonathan Swift, Bickerstaff’s Vindication, 1709]
Thus abstracted as an expletive, man alive! (1845).
Read Also:
- Half-a-dollar
noun 1. (Brit, slang) another name for a half-crown
- Half a loaf is better than none
Something is better than nothing at all. Something is better than nothing, even if it is less than one wanted. For example, He had asked for a new trumpet but got a used one—oh well, half a loaf is better than none. This expression, often shortened, was already a proverb in 1546, where it was […]
- Half a mind
An inclination that is not definite or resolute. For example, I’ve half a mind to drop the course, or He went out with half a mind to walk all the way there. [ First half of 1700s ] Also see: have a good mind to
- Half-and-half
[haf-uh n-haf, hahf-uh n-hahf] /ˈhæf ənˈhæf, ˈhɑf ənˈhɑf/ noun 1. a mixture of two things, especially in equal or nearly equal proportions. 2. milk and light cream combined in equal parts, especially for table use. 3. Chiefly British. a mixture of two malt liquors, especially porter and ale. adjective 4. half one thing and half […]
- Half and half nail
half and half nail n. Division of the nail by a transverse line into a proximal dull white part and a distal pink or brown part. It is seen in uremia.