ENGLISH
REFERENCE

vivid

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈvɪvəd// UK //vˈɪvɪd// vivid

adj. producing very clear, bright, and detailed images in your mind. You use this to describe colors that are strong or memories that feel real.

adj. producing powerful feelings or strong, clear mental images; intensely bright or distinct. Often used to describe sensory perceptions or recollections.


SIMPLE

The artist used vivid colors to paint the sunset.

CONTEXTUAL

Even after twenty years, she still has a vivid memory of her first day at university.

COMPLEX

The novelist’s vivid descriptions of the Victorian docks allow the reader to almost smell the salt air and hear the clatter of the horse-drawn carriages.

Synonyms
Origin

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.

Usage

Gradable adjective; often modified by 'very', 'extremely', or 'remarkably'.

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