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livid

adjective
liv·​id | \ ˈli-vÉ™d How to pronounce livid (audio) \

Definition of livid

1 : discolored by bruising : black-and-blue the livid traces of the sharp scourges— Abraham Cowley
2 : ashen, pallid this cross, thy livid face, thy pierced hands and feet— Walt Whitman
3 : reddish a fan of gladiolas blushed livid under the electric letters— Truman Capote
4 : very angry : enraged was livid at his son's disobedience
Other Words from livid Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about livid

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Other Words from livid

lividness \ ˈli-​vÉ™d-​nÉ™s How to pronounce lividness (audio) \ noun

Did You Know?

Livid has a colorful history. The Latin adjective lividus means "dull, grayish, or leaden blue." From this came the French livide and eventually the English "livid," which was used to describe flesh discolored by a bruise when it was first recorded in the early 17th century. A slight extension of meaning gave it the sense "ashen or pallid," as used in describing a corpse. "Livid" eventually came to be used in this sense to characterize the complexion of a person pale with anger ("livid with rage"). From this meaning came two new senses in the 20th century. One was "reddish," as one is as likely to become red with anger as pale; the other was simply "angry" or "furious," the most common sense of the word today.

Examples of livid in a Sentence

the boss was livid when yet another deadline was missed her face was livid with fear

Recent Examples on the Web

 Ukrainian state intelligence services had monitored my meeting with Kostya, and the client was livid. — Sam Patten, WIRED, "Kostya and Me: How Sam Patten Got Ensnared in Mueller’s Probe," 14 Aug. 2019 Yet there is no sign of the livid clouds running up from the south-eastern horizon which serve as its evening harbingers, rising and roiling, filling the sky with their rumbling and the night with veiled lightning. — The Economist, "The South Asian monsoon, past, present and future," 27 June 2019 As livid Kahane followers pursued, Nosair tried to hide himself by lying across the backseat. — Andrew C. Mccarthy, National Review, "The Supreme Court Was Right to Uphold the Dual-Sovereignty Doctrine," 19 June 2019 Here in Louisville, some absolute train wrecks have played out on screens when online reviews go wrong, either from angry diners or equally livid restaurant staff. — Dana Mcmahan, The Courier-Journal, "Everybody's a critic: What Louisville restaurateurs really think of your Yelp review," 17 June 2019 Rizo, who grew up in a relatively poor neighborhood in South Phoenix and was the first in her family to go to college, was livid at the injustice. — Lindsey Byrnes, Harper's BAZAAR, "Inside Aileen Rizo's Fight For Equal Pay," 24 July 2018 My husband was livid, and drove the three hours to the police station to bail him out and bring him back home. — Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, "Drunken brawl leads to sulking," 10 July 2019 Access parents are also livid about the decision and have filed a lawsuit in an effort to keep their school intact in one location. — Bethany Barnes, OregonLive.com, "Portland school board, expressing regrets, selects two sites to split Access gifted program," 30 May 2018 Suddenly realizing his position—cash-short and egg-long—Jack became livid. — Mike Kerrigan, WSJ, "Two Eggs, $5 and One Funny Yolk," 17 Aug. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'livid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of livid

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for livid

French livide, from Latin lividus, from livēre to be blue; akin to Welsh lliw color and probably to Russian sliva plum

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More Definitions for livid

livid

adjective
How to pronounce livid (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of livid

: very angry
literary : having a dark purplish color

See the full definition for livid in the English Language Learners Dictionary

livid

adjective
liv·​id | \ ˈli-vÉ™d How to pronounce livid (audio) \

Kids Definition of livid

1 : very angry
2 : pale as ashes Her face was livid with fear.

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