life

noun

ˈlīf How to pronounce life (audio)
Definition of lifenext
1
as in energy
active strength of body or mind even though he's 86 years old, he still shows a lot of life

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in person
a member of the human race an appalling number of lives were lost in the war

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in duration
the period during which something exists, lasts, or is in progress the Egyptian civilization had an extremely long life

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4
as in lifestyle
the way people live at a particular time and place frontier life must have been rugged, exciting, challenging, and more than a little dangerous

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5
as in biography
a history of a person's life a renowned historian who has written lives of several early presidents

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of life His recent calculations suggest income differences explain only about 24% of the gap in life satisfaction. — Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026 The women also developed close relationships with each other's children, with Meinhold describing Leslie as an important presence in her son's life. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026 Earlier that year, she had been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. — Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026 In another set of studies, adults who made more frequent and extreme upward comparisons reported an immediate decline in self-evaluation and cumulative declines in self-esteem and life satisfaction over a browsing session. — Ashwini Nadkarni, Time, 24 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for life
Recent Examples of Synonyms for life
  1. energy
  2. person
  3. duration
  4. lifestyle
  5. biography
  6. vigor
  7. man
  8. lifespan
Noun
  • The American consumer, who accounts for about 70% of GDP, continues to buy stuff, but many are stressed by energy prices, wage stagnation, rising interest rates, and an affordability crisis in everything from health care to housing.
    — Diane Brady, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Possible targets of the strikes reportedly include Iran’s energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities, and missile and drone arsenal.
    — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of energy
Noun
  • The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a continuing criminal investigation.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • At current growth rates, output per person doubles in twenty years in the US and takes forty-three years in the EU.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of person
Noun
  • The duration of that onshore flow will be especially important, as several consecutive high-tide cycles could produce flooding.
    — Grant Gilmore, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Both events revealed that the old models of long- and short-duration GRBs had holes in them.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of duration
Noun
  • Outside the South, interestingly, recent research has found a greater embrace of Southern accent features, emerging in particular among those in rural areas where traditional lifestyles and, often, more conservative views are embraced.
    — Valerie M. Fridland, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
  • For Diplo, helping his children embrace a healthy lifestyle is essential.
    — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of lifestyle
Noun
  • The result is Citizen Kim, an authorized biography that took five years to report and write.
    — Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Musk previously ordered SpaceX engineers to shut off Starlink's satellite network over Crimea to thwart a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships, according to a chapter in the 2023 Musk biography written by Walter Isaacson.
    — Annie Palmer,Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of biography
Noun
  • To prepare to lead in these areas, CISOs must approach AI readiness with the same vigor and care as AI adoption, building the skills, judgment and development opportunities employees need to govern AI effectively.
    — Haris Pylarinos, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • As Doo-sik, Squid Game’s Park Hae-soo is delivering the show’s defining performance with such vigor and charisma that Stone’s hand is, whether intentionally or not, tipped.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of vigor
Noun
  • Russian authorities accused the Michigan man of signing a contract with Ukraine’s military in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum after Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.
    — Olivia-Anne Cleary, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The plight of his followers began to emerge in mid-March 2023, when a local man told police that his brother and wife had starved their children to death in the forest on Mackenzie's orders.
    — Jefferson Kahinju Reuters, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of man
Noun
  • Longer lifespans extend the period during which multiple generations share financial decisions, and the transfer of businesses and other assets requires heirs to understand not only how to receive wealth, but also how to manage it.
    — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026
  • She is driven by the belief that animals deserve happiness and love and that their lifespan should, in no way, depend on their usefulness to humans.
    — Lisa Hughes, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of lifespan

Phrases Containing life

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lieutenants
life
life-and-death
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Cite this Entry

“Life.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/life. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on life

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about life

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