livid

adjective

liv·​id ˈli-vəd 

1

: discolored by bruising : black-and-blue

the livid traces of the sharp scourges

—Abraham Cowley

2

: ashen, pallid

this cross, thy livid face, thy pierced hands and feet

—Walt Whitman

3

: reddish

a fan of gladiolas blushed livid under the electric letters

—Truman Capote

4

: very angry : enraged

was livid at his son's disobedience

lividness

ˈli-vəd-nəs 

noun

Did you know?

Livid has a colorful history. The Latin adjective livēre, "to be blue," gave rise to Latin lividus, meaning "discolored by bruising." French adopted the word along with its meaning as livide, which English borrowed in the 15th century as livid. For a few centuries the English word described bruised flesh as well as a shade of dark gray and other colors having a dark grayish tone. By the 18th century people were livid, first by being pale with extreme emotion ("a pale, lean, livid face" —Henry James), and then by being reddish with the same ("His face glared with a livid red." —James Francis Barrett). By the late 19th century a livid person could also be furiously angry, which is the word's typical application today.

Synonyms

• angered
• angry
• apoplectic
• ballistic
• cheesed off [chiefly British]
• choleric
• enraged
• foaming
• fuming
• furious
• hopping
• horn-mad
• hot
• incensed
• indignant
• inflamed
• enflamed
• infuriate
• infuriated
• irate
• ireful
• mad
• outraged
• rabid
• rankled
• riled
• riley
• roiled
• shirty [chiefly British]
• sore
• steamed up
• steaming
• teed off
• ticked
• wrathful
• wroth

Examples of livid in a Sentence

the boss was livid when yet another deadline was missed

her face was livid with fear

Recent Examples on the Web

Democrats, for their part, are livid over Musk's early flex, accusing Republicans of being pawns to an oligarch. —Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 19 Dec. 2024

Leila, on the other hand, was still as livid at the family’s decision as if it had been made mere moments ago in an adjacent room. —Youmna Melhem Chamieh, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025

Many in the Penguins organization were still livid about that call following the game. —Josh Yohe, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025

Bengals fans were livid, saying the Chiefs were afraid to face Cincinnati in the playoffs. —Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French livide, from Latin lividus, from livēre to be blue; akin to Welsh lliw color and probably to Russian sliva plum

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

livid

adjective

liv·​id ˈliv-əd 

1

: discolored by bruising

2

: pale as ashes

3

: very angry

lividly adverb

Medical Definition

livid

adjective

liv·​id ˈliv-əd 

: discolored by bruising : black-and-blue