come to life en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
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(idiomatic, intransitive) To become alive, to be given life; to be brought into existence.
I don't think of Hobbes as a doll that miraculously comes to life when Calvin's around. Neither do I think of Hobbes as the product of Calvin's imagination... Hobbes is more about the subjective nature of reality than about dolls coming to life.
1995, Bill Watterson, The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book, Kansas City, MO: Andrews and McMeel, page 22:We want to know exactly how the first cells came to life on earth.
1999, Lee Smolin, New York Times, We All Came From Mars:
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(idiomatic, intransitive) To appear as if alive.
The CGI-generated characters came to life through an incredible display of a cutting-edge 3D technology.
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(idiomatic, intransitive) To start to become energetic.
It was only after Yakubu sliced another chance into the side netting, a bad miss by the former Everton striker, that Norwich came to life.
2011 October 29, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| came to life | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| come to life | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| coming to life | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| comes to life | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (6)
pl ożywać (become alive) · pl ożyć (become alive) · nl tot leven komen (become alive) · es cobrar vida (become alive) · eo viviĝi (become alive) · la vīvescō (become alive)