come alive

verb

to become responsive and animated.

Similar
wake upawakearouseawakenwakewaken
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Meanings

verbcome alive (third-person singular simple present comes alive, present participle coming alive, simple past came alive, past participle come alive)

present singular third person comes alive · participle present coming alive · past came alive

  1. idiomaticto become responsive and animated.

    Southgate's faith was rewarded when Kane got off the mark with England's crucial second in the 2-0 win over Germany. It was the catalyst for the real Kane to come alive in the tournament - and he punished Ukraine in trademark style.

    2021 July 3, Phil McNulty, “Ukraine 0-4 England”, in BBC Sport

Synonyms & antonyms

verbstop sleeping

Similar
wake upawakearouseawakenwakewaken
Broader
change stateturn
Also see
arouseawakeawakenwakewakenwake up

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

come alive. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20alive

MLA

“come alive.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20alive. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “come alive,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/come%20alive.

Source: come alive on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.