1
as in pistol
a very energetic person
the babysitter will have her hands full with those two little live wires
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in powerhouse
an ambitious person who eagerly goes after what is desired
that new reporter on the police beat is a real live wire
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of live wire
That'd essentially be a live wire, said Mark Goldstein, a Wisconsin attorney for Goldstein Law Group S.C., which specializes in employment and corporate law.
—
Gina Lee Castro, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Critics after the screening agreed that when given a character perfectly tailored to his strengths (cocky sincerity, charismatic twerpiness), Timmy is a live wire.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
Harry is suing the tabloid's publisher, Associated Newspapers, on allegations that include phone hacking and live wire tapping of calls.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Oct. 2025
On the other hand, the Cracker Barrel debacle touched so many live wires of American politics that the story was simply irresistible.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for live wire
Gina Lee Castro, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Critics after the screening agreed that when given a character perfectly tailored to his strengths (cocky sincerity, charismatic twerpiness), Timmy is a live wire.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
Harry is suing the tabloid's publisher, Associated Newspapers, on allegations that include phone hacking and live wire tapping of calls.
—Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Oct. 2025
On the other hand, the Cracker Barrel debacle touched so many live wires of American politics that the story was simply irresistible.
—Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for live wire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for live wire
Noun
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Video from a neighbor’s Ring camera shows a man identified by police as Soto pulling a pistol, then chasing Morello while continuing to shoot and pulling the trigger at least twice after Morello stumbles and falls to the ground.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The Investigative Committee said a Makarov pistol with a silencer was discovered at the scene.—
CNN's Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Dua Lipa and Callum Turner, as a powerhouse couple, that fall more in step with the likes of Hailey and Justin Bieber’s individual style statements than, say, Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet’s joint method dressing.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
15 Feb. 2026
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California remains a dairy powerhouse, with one in every five glass of milk drunk in this country coming from California dairy business.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This process, called the solar dynamo, operates deep below the surface.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Feb. 2026
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But larger rocky worlds such as super-Earths are thought to have cores that are either fully solid or fully liquid, which typically limit the operation of a conventional, Earth-like core dynamo.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Live wire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/live%20wire. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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