lifelong

adjective

Definition of lifelongnext
as in deep
continuing or lasting through a person's life He had a lifelong love of nature. a lifelong friendship

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lifelong For Beccaria, an execution’s fleeting spectacle deterred less effectively than lifelong penal servitude. — Maurizio Valsania, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026 In some individuals, exposure to alpha-gal can lead to a lifelong allergic response. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026 In 1955, the 58-year-old Anderson at last fulfilled her lifelong dream of appearing with New York’s Metropolitan Opera, becoming the company’s first African American soloist. — Barbara Spindel, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Oct. 2026 Some people with severe CP may need to use special equipment to walk or may need lifelong care. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lifelong
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lifelong
  1. deep
  2. persistent
  3. enduring
  4. abiding
  5. inveterate
  6. hard-core
Adjective
  • Both have built much of their appeal on opposition to the political establishment, the promise to wish away budget constraints, and deep hostility toward the European Union.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Acting was his guiding passion, but his deep love for the avant-garde helped till the ground for the city’s theatrical renaissance that the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival catalyzed.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of deep
Adjective
  • The finance chiefs ended the meeting without a joint communique, underscoring persistent divisions among members over the Middle East conflict, trade imbalances, and Russia's war with Ukraine.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
  • When deployed in numbers, Archimedes units form a resilient defense grid, creating persistent protection for forces, facilities, and critical infrastructure.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of persistent
Adjective
  • The Billboard Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an artist with an enduring and exceptional career whose work has expanded the reach of Latin music worldwide.
    — Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2026
  • With the next World Cup still four years away, however, Pochettino is looking beyond the results toward building something enduring.
    — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of enduring
Adjective
  • Yet whatever the circumstances, the characters who populate her songs have an abiding and unshakable likability.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Though only married for a few years, their partnership feels seasoned, fortified by faith, ambition and an abiding sense of gratitude.
    — Partner Content, Variety, 17 Dec. 2025
Definition of abiding
Adjective
  • The Beach Boys’ touring machine has been going nearly nonstop for the last 65 or so years, as Stamos and Christian Love noted in the intro, driven by Mike as one of pop music’s most inveterate and even seemingly compulsive tourers.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The cast features not just the creator, who makes the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype her own as ukulele troubadour Lulu, but also a pre-Bridgerton Jonathan Bailey in the wild role of an inveterate womanizer.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of inveterate
Adjective
  • After arriving on a private jet, Rebecca, Zelda, and Higgins have to sit with an enthusiastic member of the hoi polloi, a hard-core fan who’s made a trek to be at the game but has somehow escaped from the cheap seats to sit with them.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The loudest hard-core German music can reach 107dB when measured with a decibel meter, which is incredibly loud (ear-damagingly so).
    — Florence Ion, PC Magazine, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of hard-core

Browse Nearby Words

lifelike
lifelong
life of Riley
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lifelong.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lifelong. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All