Dictionary

short-lived en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ʃɔɹtˈlɪvd/ (US)
• /ʃɔɹtˈlaɪvd/ (US)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From short + lived (“having a life, lifed”), equivalent to short + life + -ed. Compare Middle English short-livi, sort-levi (“short-lived”).

Meanings

1. Alive or existent for only a short period of time.
   • At the end of 1927 the Communists were "purged" from the Kuomintang, and although in 1928 a short-lived soviet government had been proclaimed at Hsunyi, it was crushed by General Feng Yu-hsiang's pro-Nanking troops. 1971, Dick Wilson, “Home and Dry in Shensi”, in The Long March 1935: The Epic of Chinese Communism's Survival, New York: Viking Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 227:
   • Did you know? The London & North Western that became part of the LMS actually consisted of the older LNWR and the Lancashire & Yorkshire. Their merger came into effect on January 1 1922 to create the biggest but most short-lived "pre-Grouping' company. 2021 August 11, Richard Foster, “A century of railway politics”, in RAIL, number 937, page 42:
   • The prosperity was short-lived, and in 1828 the salt pans closed and the railway extension was lifted. 1960 January 14, Iain D. O. Frew, “The Brora Colliery Tramway”, in Railway Magazine, page 56:
   • But his joy was short-lived, for his fortunes soon changed.
2. Of a radioisotope (or by extension radioelement): having a short half-life.

Forms

Antonyms

long-lived · long-lasting

Deriveds

sharp short-lived head pain · short-livedness

Relateds

fleeting · brief · momentary

Translations (28)

ga díomuan (not existing for long) · bg кратък (not existing for long) · sh krȁtkotrājan (not existing for long) · ja 儚い (not existing for long) · sv kortlivad (not existing for long) · hu rövid életű (not existing for long) · fi lyhytkestoinen (not existing for long) · ga gearrshaolach (not existing for long) · ru кратковре́менный (not existing for long) · ko 단명하는 (not existing for long) · mk краткотраен (not existing for long) · cy oesfyr (not existing for long) · bg мимолетен (not existing for long) · cmn 短暫 /短暂 (not existing for long) · grc βραχύβιος (not existing for long) · ga duthain (not existing for long) · nn kortliva (not existing for long) · sv kortvarig (not existing for long) · grc ὀλιγόβιος (not existing for long) · de kurzlebig (not existing for long) · cmn 短命 (not existing for long) · pl krótkotrwały (not existing for long) · nb kortlivet (not existing for long) · fi lyhytikäinen (not existing for long) · ca efímer (not existing for long) · es efímero (not existing for long) · es de corta duración (not existing for long) · mi rangitahi (not existing for long)