Dictionary

modus vivendi en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• mōʹdus vivĕnʹdi
• /ˌmoʊdəs vɪˈvɛndiː/ (General-American)
• /ˌməʊdəs vɪˈvɛndiː/ (UK)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin modus vīvendī, from modus (“way, manner”) + genitive gerund form of vīvere (“to live”).

Meanings

1. A way of living, especially a working arrangement to allow for peaceful coexistence between two parties in spite of differences or unresolved disputes.
   • One would almost have supposed Henchard to have had policy to see that no better modus vivendi could be arrived at with Farfrae than by encouraging him to become his son-in-law. 1886 May, Thomas Hardy, chapter XVII, in The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder & Co., […], →OCLC:
   • The Persians were reviewing the legal systems of the subject peoples to make sure that they were compatible with imperial security, and Ezra had probably worked out a satisfactory modus vivendi between Mosaic and Persian jurisprudence. 2009, Karen Armstrong, The Case for God, Vintage, published 2010, page 53:
   • Yet Trump has little to show for his methods: no end to the war in Ukraine, no new modus vivendi with Russia or China, no progress on Middle East peace, no breakthroughs on trade, and certainly no Nobel Peace Prize. 2025 September 22, Vivek Viswanathan, “The Art of the Decline”, in The Atlantic:
   • For the moment it is impossible to identify a future modus vivendi with Gaza. No deals with Hamas will be trusted but nor is there a certain route to eliminate Hamas. 2023 October 14, Lawrence Freedman, “No end in sight”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2:
   • The alien beings desire to know mankind more fully, and to have a few of mankind’s philosophic and scientific leaders know more about them. With such an exchange of knowledge all perils will pass, and a satisfactory modus vivendi be established. 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, chapter 5, in The Whisperer in Darkness:

Forms

Translations (4)

es modus vivendi (noun) · fi tapa elää rinnakkain (noun) · pl modus vivendi (noun) · fi yhteistoimintatapa (noun)