short-lived
/ʃɔɹtˈlɪvd/
"short-lived" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“short-lived” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alive or existent for only a short period of time.
Corpus desk
Index EN-short-lived · short-lived · English
short-lived · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | short-lived |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ʃɔɹtˈlɪvd/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “short-lived” in English
Rare enough to double-check
short-lived is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ʃɔɹtˈlɪvd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for short-lived, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From short + lived (“having a life, lifed”), equivalent to short + life + -ed. Compare Middle English short-livi, sort-levi (“short-lived”). The correct English form is short-lived, spelled S-H-O-R-T---L-I-V-E-D.
Definition
- 1Alive or existent for only a short period of time.
- 2Of a radioisotope (or by extension radioelement): having a short half-life.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how short-lived appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
But his joy was short-lived, for his fortunes soon changed.
The prosperity was short-lived, and in 1828 the salt pans closed and the railway extension was lifted.
Etymology
From short + lived (“having a life, lifed”), equivalent to short + life + -ed. Compare Middle English short-livi, sort-levi (“short-lived”).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.