Definition
Vivid comes from the Latin vivere, 'to live', and that is exactly what vivid things do — they feel alive. A vivid description puts you in the scene; a vivid memory replays like film; a vivid dream is mistaken for waking. Applied to color and light, it means intensely bright and saturated: vivid reds, a vivid sunset. In every use, the core idea is the same: so strong and clear that it seems to have a life of its own.
Examples
- She gave a vivid description of the harbor at dawn, down to the smell of the salt air.
- The dream was so vivid that he woke convinced the phone had really rung.
- Market stalls overflowed with fruit in vivid reds and oranges.
Synonyms
graphic · striking · intense · brilliant · lifelike
In TOEFL & IELTS
An examiner-pleaser in descriptive tasks: IELTS Speaking Part 2 ('describe a memorable…') practically begs for 'a vivid memory' and 'I remember it vividly'. TOEFL reading uses it for imagery in literature passages. Collocations to own: vivid imagination, vivid detail, vivid colors — and the adverb 'vividly' with remember and describe.