Alive.
Synonyms:
| active, | breathing, | live, | quick, |
| alert, | brisk, | lively, | subsisting, |
| animate, | existent, | living, | vivacious. |
| animated, | existing, | ||
Alive applies to all degrees of life, from that which shows one to be barely existing or existent as a living thing, as when we say he is just alive, to that which implies the very utmost of vitality and power, as in the words "he is all alive," "thoroughly alive." So the word quick, which began by signifying "having life," is now mostly applied to energy of life as shown in swiftness of action. Breathing is capable of like contrast. We say of a dying man, he is still breathing; or we speak of a breathing statue, or "breathing and sounding, beauteous battle," Tennyson Princess can. v, l. 155, where it means having, or seeming to have, full and vigorous breath, abundant life. Compare ACTIVE; ALERT; NIMBLE.
Antonyms:
| dead, | defunct, | dull, | lifeless, |
| deceased, | dispirited, | inanimate, | spiritless. |
Prepositions:
Alive in every nerve; alive to every noble impulse; alive with fervor, hope, resolve; alive through all his being.