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life

/lʌɪf/

noun
- 1. the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death: "the origins of life" Similar existencebeinglivinganimationalivenessanimatenessentitysentiencecreationsurvivalviabilityrare:esseOpposite deathnon-existence
- ▪ living things and their activity: "lower forms of life" Similar living thingsliving beingsliving creaturesthe livinghuman/animal/plant lifefaunafloraecosystemscreatureswildlifehuman beingshumanityhumankindmankindmanhuman activityliterary:flesh
- 2. the existence of an individual human being or animal: "a disaster that claimed the lives of 266 people" Similar personhuman beingindividualmortalsoulcreature
- ▪ a particular type or aspect of human existence: "his father decided to start a new life in California" Similar way of lifeway of livingmanner of livinglifestylesituationpositionstatestationconditionset of circumstancesfatelotspherefieldlinecareerbusiness
- ▪ a biography: "a life of Shelley" Similar biographyautobiographylife storylife historymemoirhistoryprofilediaryjournalconfessionsrecordchronicleaccountreportportrayaldepictionportraitinformal:biogbio
- ▪ (in Christianity and some other religious traditions) either of the two states of a person's existence separated by death: "he departed this life on 28 March 1912" Similar lifetimelife spandaysduration of lifeallotted spancourse of lifetime on earthexistenceone's timeone's careerthreescore years and tenthis mortal coilinformal:one's born days
- ▪ (in Hinduism and some other religious traditions) any of a number of successive existences in which a soul is held to be reincarnated: "a spiritual pilgrimage into her past lives"
- ▪ a chance to live after narrowly escaping death (with reference to the nine lives traditionally attributed to cats): "we were called to the hospital, but the old rogue had nine lives and seemed to be negotiating for another two"
- ▪ (in various games) one of a specified number of chances each player has before being put out.
- 3. the period between the birth and death of a living thing, especially a human being: "she has lived all her life in the country" Similar lifetimelife spandaysduration of lifeallotted spancourse of lifetime on earthexistenceone's timeone's careerthreescore years and tenthis mortal coilinformal:one's born days
- ▪ the period during which something inanimate or abstract continues to exist, function, or be valid: "underlay helps to prolong the life of a carpet" Similar durationactive lifelifetimeexistencefunctioning periodperiod of effectivenessperiod of usefulnessvalidityefficacy
- ▪ a sentence of imprisonment for life. informal
- 4. vitality, vigour, or energy: "she was beautiful and full of life" Similar vivacityanimationlivelinessvitalityvervehigh spiritssparkleexuberancezestbuoyancyeffervescenceenthusiasmenergyvigourdynamismgoelangustobriobouncespiritspiritednessactivityfirepanachecolourdashdrivepushbusinessbustlehustle and bustlemovementstirinformal:oomphpizzazzpepzingzipvimget-up-and-gomoving spiritmoving forceanimating spiritvital spiritspiritvital sparklife forcelifebloodessencecoreheartsoulstrengthquintessencesubstanceélan vital
- 5. (in art) the depiction of a subject from a real model, rather than from an artist's imagination: "the pose and clothing were sketched from life"
Word Origin Old Englishlīf, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch lijf, German Leib ‘body’, also to live1.
Scrabble Points: 7
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People also ask
What is life really about?
Life is self-organising chemistry which reproduces itself and passes on its evolved characteristics, encoded in DNA. In thermodynamics terms, it has the ability to reduce local entropy or disorganisation, thus locally contravening the third law of thermodynamics. But what is life really about, if anything?

What Is Life? | Issue 101 | Philosophy Now

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What is the meaning of life?
The first English use of the expression "meaning of life" appeared in Thomas Carlyle 's Sartor Resartus (1833–August 1834): "Our Life is compassed round with Necessity; yet is the meaning of Life itself no other than Freedom, than Voluntary Force: thus have we a warfare; in the beginning, especially, a hard-fought battle." [ 80 ]

Meaning of life - Wikipedia

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Does life have a purpose?
Reliance on an eternal afterlife only postpones the question of life’s purpose. Human life may not have been created with any pre-determined purpose, but this need not mean that it cannot have a purpose. Even in the most absurd, painful, and dispiriting of circumstances, life can still be given a meaning, and so too can suffering.

What Is the Meaning of Life? - Psychology Today

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201803/what-is-the-meaning-life
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What are the three meanings of meaning in life?
The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(5), 531–545. ^ Wong, P.T.P. (2011). Positive psychology 2.0: Towards a balanced interactive model of the good life. Canadian Psychology, 52(2), 69–81. ^ abWong, P.T.P. (2012).

Meaning of life - Wikipedia

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Is life a noun or a verb?
life, living matter and, as such, matter that shows certain attributes that include responsiveness, growth, metabolism, energy transformation, and reproduction. Although a noun, as with other defined entities, the word life might be better cast as a verb to reflect its essential status as a process.

Life | Definition, Origin, Evolution, Diversity, & Facts | Britannica

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Does life have meaning?
A person's life has meaning (for themselves, others) as the life events resulting from their achievements, legacy, family, etc., but, to say that life, itself, has meaning, is a misuse of language, since any note of significance, or of consequence, is relevant only in life (to the living), so rendering the statement erroneous.

Meaning of life - Wikipedia

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plato.stanford.edu › entries › life-meaningThe Meaning of Life - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

plato.stanford.edu › entries › life-meaning
May 15, 2007 · When the topic of the meaning of life comes up, people tend to pose one of three questions: “What are you talking about?”, “What is the meaning of life?”, and “Is life in fact meaningful?”.
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  Life (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) First published...
www.britannica.com › science › lifeLife | Definition, Origin, Evolution, Diversity, & Facts ...

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Oct 25, 2024 · Life is matter that shows certain attributes, such as responsiveness, growth, metabolism, and reproduction. Learn how life evolved on Earth, how it is studied by various sciences, and what are the challenges of defining life.
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Meaning_of_lifeMeaning of life - Wikipedia

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Explore the question "What is the meaning of life?" from various angles, such as science, philosophy, religion, and humanism. Learn about the origin of the expression, the origin and nature of biological life, and the different views and approaches to the topic.
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philosophynow.org › issues › 101What Is Life? | Issue 101 | Philosophy Now

philosophynow.org › issues › 101
Life is the aspect of existence that processes, acts, reacts, evaluates, and evolves through growth (reproduction and metabolism). The crucial difference between life and non-life (or non-living things) is that life uses energy for physical and conscious development.
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › LifeLife - Wikipedia

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Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes from matter that does not. Learn about the scientific and philosophical definitions of life, its origin and evolution, its diversity and composition, and its challenges and controversies.
www.psychologytoday.com › what-is-the-meaning-lifeWhat Is the Meaning of Life? - Psychology Today

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Mar 3, 2018 · The author argues that life has no pre-determined purpose, but we can create our own meaning by choosing to do so. He cites examples from nature, philosophy, and psychology to support his view.
plato.stanford.edu › entries › lifeLife - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

plato.stanford.edu › entries › life
Nov 30, 2021 · Life (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) First published Tue Nov 30, 2021. Open a textbook in biology and you’ll find a purported definition of life, usually in the form of a list of characteristics that apply to organisms, their parts, their interactions, or their history.