Meaning & use
alive
Last updated
Meanings
adjectiveafter a verb
Living; not dead.
Grammar: Goes after a verb like be or stay: he is alive. Before a noun use living: a living creature.
Patterns
- stay alive
- be alive
- keep someone alive
The rescuers found the hikers alive after three days.
Doctors worked hard to keep the patient alive.
The oldest tree in the park is still alive.
adjectiveafter a verb
Full of energy, excitement and life.
Grammar: Describes feelings or places: feel alive; the city came alive.
Patterns
- come alive
- feel alive
- alive with something
She felt alive again after the long hike.
The street comes alive at night.
The forest was alive with birdsong.
adjectiveafter a verb
Still existing, active or continuing.
Grammar: Used about traditions, hopes or debates: keep the tradition alive.
Patterns
- keep something alive
- remain alive
They fought to keep the old language alive.
Hope stayed alive despite the delays.
The debate is very much alive.
Common combinations
- stay alive
- The survivors struggled to stay alive.
- barely alive
- The puppy was barely alive when we found it.
- come alive
- The museum comes alive during the festival.
- alive and well
- The tradition is alive and well.
- alive with
- The garden was alive with bees.
- keep alive
- Volunteers keep the memory alive.
Synonyms and how they differ
- living
- Living can go before a noun, which alive cannot, so a living thing is correct.
- lively
- Lively describes busy, energetic behavior or places but not simply being not dead.
- animated
- Animated is about showing excitement or movement in manner or conversation.
- surviving
- Surviving means remaining after others have died or gone.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: alive or live? alive or living?
alive vs live
As an adjective before a noun, live (rhymes with five) means not recorded, as in live music; alive normally follows the noun.
alive vs living
Use living before a noun and alive after a verb: living things but the plant is alive.
Practice
Which sentence is correct?
Choose one answer.
Alive normally follows a verb, as in found alive. Before a noun the usual word is living, so the other options sound wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “alive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.