livid
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
extremely angry or furious about something.
extremely angry; furious. While the etymological root refers to turning pale with rage, it is now used as a general intensifier for anger.
Simple“My boss was livid when he found out I had lost the important files.”
In context“The residents were livid after the council decided to cancel the project without any prior public consultation.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
having a dark, bluish, or purple colour, like a bruise on the skin.
having a dark, bluish, or leaden appearance; often used to describe the colour of bruised flesh or a stormy sky.
Simple“The boxer had a livid bruise under his left eye after the fight.”
In context“The sky turned a livid shade of grey just before the storm broke over the valley.”
Synonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
looking very pale, especially because of illness or strong emotion.
pallid or ashen in appearance; lacking healthy colour.
Simple“His face was livid with fear as he watched the ghost appear.”
In context“She stood by the window, her features livid in the cold moonlight, looking like a marble statue.”
“His forehead was livid blue from a fall.”
From Middle English livid, livide, from Old French livide, from Latin līvidus (“bluish, livid; envious”), from līveō (“be of a bluish color or livid; envy”), from Proto-Italic sliwēō, from Proto-Indo-European sliwo-, suffixed form of *(s)leh₃y- (“bluish”). See also Old English slā (“sloe”), Welsh lliw (“splendor, color”), Old Irish li, Lithuanian slyvas (“plum”), and Russian and Old Church Slavonic слива (sliva, “plum”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.