vivid

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈvɪvɪd/ See IPA manual

Freq #11659

Meanings

1

adj
Producing clear, strong, lifelike images in the mind.

She gave a vivid description of her trip.
2

adj
Bright, strong, and full of colour.

The garden was full of vivid red flowers.
3

adj
Clear and detailed, as if recently experienced.

I have a vivid memory of my first day at school.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms vividervividest

Derived forms vividly vividness

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Vivid is recorded from the mid-17th century and belongs to the group of words based ultimately on Latin vivere “to live.”

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós Proto-Indo-European *gʷíh₃weti Proto-Italic *gʷīwō Latin vīvō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Latin -idus Latin vīviduslbor. English vivid Learned borrowing from Latin vividus (“animated, spirited”), from vivere (“to live”), akin to vita (“life”), Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, “life”). The noun sense (a type of marker pen) was genericized from Bic's Vivid Marker brand.

*gʷeyh₃- Proto-Indo-European vividus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# vivid

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈvɪvɪd/
**Frequency rank:** 11659

## Meanings
1. Producing clear, strong, lifelike images in the mind.
2. Bright, strong, and full of colour.
3. Clear and detailed, as if recently experienced.

## Examples
- She gave a vivid description of her trip.
- The garden was full of vivid red flowers.
- I have a vivid memory of my first day at school.

## Derived Forms
- vividly
- vividness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gʷeyh₃-
- Root: vividus

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós Proto-Indo-European *gʷíh₃weti Proto-Italic *gʷīwō Latin vīvō Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Latin -idus Latin vīviduslbor. English vivid Learned borrowing from Latin vividus (“animated, spirited”), from vivere (“to live”), akin to vita (“life”), Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, “life”). The noun sense (a type of marker pen) was genericized from Bic's Vivid Marker brand.

## AI Etymology
Vivid: The etymological chain runs Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- -> Proto-Indo-European *-wós -> Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós -> Proto-Indo-European *gʷíh₃weti -> Proto-Italic *gʷīwō -> Latin vīvō -> Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- -> Latin -idus -> Latin vīvidus -> English vivid. Learned borrowing from Latin vividus (“animated, spirited”), from vivere (“to live”), akin to vita (“life”), Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, “life”). The noun sense (a type of marker pen) was genericized from Bic's Vivid Marker brand. In present-day use, it can mean producing clear, strong, lifelike images in the mind, or bright, strong, and full of colour.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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