living

Less common meanings

9. 9
   updated oftenadjective

   Continually updated or revised rather than fixed in a final, static form.

   The constitution is sometimes described as a living document that courts reinterpret over time.

   Engineers keep a living record of every change to the software.

   Similardynamic

   Oppositestatic, fixed

10. 10
    true to lifeadjective

    True to life; closely and vividly resembling the actual person or thing represented.

    She is the living image of her grandmother in old photographs.

    The portrait offers a living likeness of the duke, down to the scar on his chin.

    UsageMostly in the living image of someone; the spitting image of is the more common phrase.

    Similarexact, lifelike, perfect

11. 11
    for emphasisadjective

    Used as an intensifier, especially in fixed expressions of fear, anger, or misery.

    Commuting in the August heat was a living hell.

    The sudden alarm scared the living daylights out of everyone in the office.

    UsageMostly in set phrases: scare the living daylights out of someone, a living hell, a living nightmare.

    Similarabsolute, utter, veritable, sheer

12. 12
    church jobnouncountable

    A church office, usually in the Church of England, that provides its holder with an income.

    The squire presented his nephew to the living when the old rector retired.

    Without a wealthy patron, a curate might wait decades for a living of his own.

    Similarbenefice, incumbency

    Note

    A term from the Church of England's system of patronage, in which a parish post came with its own income. Henry Spelman's tract De Non Temerandis Ecclesijs calls a rectory a "Spirituall liuing" made up of land, tithe and offerings. Two parties are involved: a patron nominates the priest, and the bishop actually grants the living. A clergyman is therefore presented to a living, and a curate without one waits for it. Source

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

    • A Church of England living was an ecclesiastical office supported by income attached to it. en.wikipedia.org
    • Henry Spelman wrote De Non Temerandis Ecclesijs and defined a rectory in terms of land, tithe and offerings. en.wiktionary.org
    • The cited text prints "Spirituall liuing". "Spirituall living" silently modernizes the u/v spelling. en.wiktionary.org
    • The patron nominates the priest, while the bishop admits him to the benefice. en.wiktionary.org
    • A clergyman is presented to a living. elydiocese.org
    • Serving as a curate commonly precedes obtaining a living. en.wikipedia.org
13. 13
    natural rockadjective

    Of rock or stone, still in its original, natural place and not quarried or detached.

    Petra's tombs were cut from the living rock of desert cliffs.

    The cellar's back wall is living stone, part of the mountain itself.

    Similarnative

    Note

    A word for builders and archaeologists, almost always met as living rock or living stone. A chamber "hewn out of the living rock," as in H. Rider Haggard's She (1886–87), was carved into the hill itself rather than built from quarried blocks. The adjective pictures stone that is still part of its parent mass, and it is most at home in descriptions of rock-cut tombs, cellars and temples. Source

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • H. Rider Haggard wrote She. gutenberg.org
    • She first appeared in serial form in 1886–87. en.wikisource.org
    • She describes a chamber as "hewn out of the living rock". gutenberg.org
    • Living rock means rock remaining in its original place, so a chamber hewn from it is excavated directly into the rock. en.wiktionary.org