Definition

Verb (transitive) To live in such a way that a past mistake, embarrassment, or disgrace is eventually forgotten or no longer held against one; to overcome the shame or notoriety of a past action through subsequent behavior.

Usage

This verb is typically used with an object (a mistake, shame, or reputation). It often implies that the past action was significant, embarrassing, or notorious enough that overcoming it is a challenge. It is frequently used in negative constructions (e.g., "never live down") or questions about possibility.

Examples

• He was so embarrassed about tripping on stage that he thought he would never live it down.
• Can you ever live down the reputation of being the person who accidentally sent the email to the entire company?
• She made a huge error in the report and is still trying to live it down.

Advanced Usage

• "to live down a reputation": To act in a way that causes people to forget a previously held (usually negative) opinion of you.
  • After the scandal, the politician spent years trying to live down his reputation for dishonesty.
• The phrase is often used in the infinitive form to express doubt about the possibility of overcoming shame.
  • That's a story you'll never live to live down.

Variants and Related Words

• Live (verb): To be alive; to reside; to conduct one's life in a specified way. (Note: "Live down" is a distinct phrasal verb from the base verb "live".)
• Downplay (verb): To make something seem less important than it is. (Conceptually related as a strategy for dealing with embarrassment, but a different word.)

Synonyms

• Overcome: To successfully deal with or gain control of something.
• Outlive: To live longer than; to survive past (often used figuratively for reputations).
• Get over: To recover from an upsetting or embarrassing experience.

Phrasal Verbs

• Live down is itself a phrasal verb. It does not have further phrasal verb derivatives.

Related Idioms

• "Water under the bridge": Used to describe past events, especially conflicts or mistakes, that are no longer important or a source of concern. This is the state one hopes to achieve when one has "lived down" a mistake.
  • Don't worry about the old argument; it's water under the bridge now.

Verb

1. live so as to annul some previous behavior
   • You can never live this down!