Word of the Day

: August 10, 2020

vivacious

adjective vuh-VAY-shus

What It Means

: lively in temper, conduct, or spirit : sprightly

vivacious in Context

The host was a vivacious woman with a knack for making people feel comfortable.

"Totoro, the story of two young girls and the wood spirits they befriend, is vivacious and warmhearted, trafficking in the everyday magic and fertile imagination of childhood." — Jason Bailey, The New York Times, 5 June 2020

Did You Know?

It's no surprise that vivacious means "full of life," since it can be traced back to the Latin verb vivere, meaning "to live." The word was created around the mid-17th century using vivax, a vivere derivative meaning "long-lived, vigorous, or high-spirited." Other descendants of vivere in English include survive, revive, and victual—all of which came to life during the 15th century—and vivid and convivial, both of which surfaced around the same time as vivacious. Somewhat surprisingly, the word live is not related; it comes to us from the Old English word libban.