Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - alive

~ S2 W3 adj 1 »NOT DEAD« still living and not dead  (It was a really bad accident - they're lucky to be alive. | None of my grandparents are alive now.) stay ~ (=continue to live)  (They managed to stay alive by eating berries and roots.) keep sb ~  (He's being kept alive on a life-support machine.) 2 »CHEERFUL« active and happy; feel ~  (It was the kind of morning when you wake up and feel really alive.) 3 »STILL EXISTING« continuing to exist  (Ancient traditions are still very much alive in rural areas.) keep sth ~  (fighting to keep our academic institutions alive.) 4 come ~ a) if a situation or event comes alive it becomes interesting and seems real  (For me the play only came alive in the final act.) b) if someone comes alive they start to be happy and interested in what is happening  (It was as if she came alive when she sat down at the piano.) c) if a town or city etc comes ~ it becomes busy  (seaside resorts that come alive in the summer.) 5 bring sth ~ to make something interesting  (Plays need the sound of human voices to bring them alive.) 6 be ~ and well a) to be healthy and enjoy life b) informal humorous to be popular and successful  (The mini skirt is alive and well in Paris this year.) 7 be ~ and kicking to be very healthy and active  ( "How's your father nowadays?" "Oh, still alive and kicking.") 8 be ~ to to realize that something is happening and that it is important  (The company is alive to the threat posed by foreign imports.) 9 be ~ with to be full of people, animals, or things that are moving  (a tree trunk alive with ants)  (- see also skin sb ~ (skin2 (3)))