Word of the Day — Livid

When I think livid, I think angry, but it can mean a color as well.  Who would have thought of using it to describe gladiolas… see below in the definition?  I wouldn’t have. I always think livid and someone is ready to scream, blow up, or storm out of the house.  He was livid, and she knew that if she didn’t shut up, the house was going to come crashing down.

liv·id

adjective \ˈli-vəd\

: very angry

: having a dark purplish color

1:  discolored by bruising :  black-and-blue <the livid traces of the sharp scourges — Abraham Cowley>

2:  ashen, pallid <this cross, thy livid face, thy pierced hands and feet — Walt Whitman>

3:  reddish <a fan of gladiolas blushed livid under the electric letters — Truman Capote>

4:  very angry :  enraged <was livid at his son’s disobedience

I don’t often write about someone that was so angry they could be described as livid, but I love thinking in terms of that. Go figure.

Signing off

~Kate

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