come alive

1. Become vigorous or lively. For example, It took some fast rhythms to make the dancers come alive , or As soon as he mentioned ice cream, the children came to life . The adjective alive has been used in the sense of “vivacious” since the 1700s. Also, the variant originally (late 1600s) meant “to recover from a faint or apparent death.” [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]

2. Appear real or believable, as in It's really hard to make this prose come to life . Also see look alive .

Idioms and Phrases

Also, come to life .

Example Sentences

Their logic: the sea-creature would come alive and drink up any remaining alcohol.

From The Daily Beast

For a moment the past comes alive to me, or I come alive to the past.

From The Daily Beast

Led by the Rose City Riveters support group, the fans make the stadium come alive every game.

From The Daily Beast

When it is done well, the senses come alive in a new and captured form.

From The Daily Beast

But the devilish details in expense reports are what makes it really come alive.

From The Daily Beast

The dead would surely rise; the baby in the "best" room there would one day come alive.

From Project Gutenberg

If your monster, polypus-like, come alive again in the tail-part, you must fell that other head of him.

From Project Gutenberg

We heard Lynds' voice come alive suddenly through the crackling static.

From Project Gutenberg

When we are warmly gathered again into an important group, we begin to come alive.

From Project Gutenberg

It's a wonder you come alive enough to ride out this way at all!

From Project Gutenberg