lived

[ lahyvd, livd ]

adjective

1. having life, a life, or lives, as specified (usually used in combination):

   a many-lived cat.

-lived

/ -lɪvd /

adjective

1. having or having had a life as specified

   short-lived

Pronunciation Note

Lived, meaning “having a certain kind or extent of life,” is not derived from the preterit and past participle of the verb live [liv], but from the noun life [lahyf], to which the suffix -ed has been added. The original pronunciation, therefore, and one still heard, is [lahyvd], which retains the vowel (ī) of life. Since the f of life changes to v with the addition of this suffix, as when leaf becomes leaved, this lived is identical in spelling with the preterit and past participle lived, and conflation of the two has led to the increasingly frequent pronunciation of this lived as [livd] in such combinations as long-lived and short-lived. Both pronunciations are considered standard.

Other Words From

• half-lived adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lived¹

A Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; life, -ed ³

Example Sentences

Ms Riley, who lived in the city of Athens, north-east Georgia, was found dead in a wooded area of the UGA campus after she did not return from her morning run.

From BBC

"Our voices are often shut out of the COP29 negotiating rooms. Which means we will get outcomes that don’t reflect the lived realities of women in climate-hit areas," she said.

From BBC

He says the family lived paycheck to paycheck or “sometimes worse.”

From Los Angeles Times

The pterosaurs are extinct flying reptiles that lived alongside their close relatives, the dinosaurs.

From Science Daily

The Gibbs had been performing together since 1958, forming the group when they lived in Brisbane, Australia, when Barry was 12 and the twins were 9.

From Los Angeles Times