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long-lived

/ˌlɔŋ ˌˈlɪvd/
IPA guide

Other forms: longer-lived; longest-lived

Long-lived things have been around for a very long time. By the smell of your couch, you may want to describe it as long-lived.

You can describe people who live to be quite old as long-lived: "All the men in my family are remarkably long-lived." It's also a good word for talking about inanimate objects that keep working for a long time, or even ideas that stick around: "His childhood plan to join the circus turned out to be long-lived — it was still his dream at the age of 35."

Definitions of long-lived
  1. adjective
    existing for a long time
    long
    primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘long-lived'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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