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 lividus means "dull, grayish, or leaden blue." From this came the French livide, which English borrowed as livid. The word can describe flesh discolored by a bruise or an appearance deficient in color. Eventually, it came to be used for the complexion of a person pale with anger (i.e., "a person livid with rage"). From this meaning came two new senses: "reddish," as one is as likely to become red with anger as pale; the other was simply "angry" or "furious."

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

Although Trump claims not to have heard the joke and his campaign has disavowed it, many Puerto Rican voters, including a healthy crop of public figures, are livid over the slur and the lack of a direct apology from Trump. —Rafael Bernal, The Hill, 30 Oct. 2024

Nikki, who is inside Brooke's body, becomes livid — desperate to return to her life as a social media influencer. —Samantha Stutsman, People.com, 11 Oct. 2024

His mother is absolutely livid with me for not telling her for five days. —Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 9 Oct. 2024

The Union and the Confederacy each engaged in secretive maneuvers, and every time an incident rose to the level of media attention, readers became livid. —Longreads, 3 Oct. 2024

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