prime of life
3
4.2
- noun
- /praɪm əv laɪf/
:
plena juventud
- This disease killed primarily not the young, old, and weak, but rather the strong, vigorous individuals in the prime of life.
Examples
-
No doubt the terrible Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 had taken Annabelle Constance Briggs in the prime of life.
Fiction book (2000) -
They were people of great energy and ardor, people in the prime of life, people without illusions but not without ideals.
Academic text (1992) -
I thought 40 was the prime of life.
-
But we're still in the prime of life.
-
Loneliness can kill you in the prime of life.
Fiction book (1990) -
You're in the prime of life... my age!
-
The victims were primarily working people in the prime of life, often the family breadwinners.
Academic text (2002) -
That is, young men and women in the prime of life who should be the mainstays of families and their economies.
-
The people I visited spoke frequently of HIV/AIDS, a frightening new disease that was striking individuals in the prime of life, a condition whose origin was not clearly known.
Academic text (2010) -
Many people believe that their thirties represent the prime of life, filled with energy and ambition.
Synonyms
54
5.0
The time in life when a person is most active and successful
15
3.3
Something is at its strongest, most successful, or most intense
1
6.3
A time when a young person looks and feels their best
Antonyms
How Energetic
3
4.2
11
3.5
18
3.4
10
2.2
109
2.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently built from 'prime' (peak period) + 'of' + 'life' (the span of a person's existence), so a learner who knows these words can infer it refers to the peak period of one's life. This is a straightforward compositional noun phrase and aligns with cross‑linguistic patterns, making it immediately comprehensible at B1.
Etymology
Prime of life comes from the picture of prime as the very best part and life as a person's years, like someone who is strong and full of energy. That's why it means 'the best time in a person's life', when they are at their peak.