standard of life
1
3.3
- noun
- /ˈstændərd əv laɪf/
:
nivel de vida
- The government implemented new policies to raise the standard of life for all citizens.
- better standard of life
Examples
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Access to healthcare is crucial for maintaining a high standard of life in any community.
-
The standard of life in Poland, for example, has improved since its joining the European Community, which in turn has provided financial opportunities in London.
Blog text (22) -
We have the standard of life we have now because others worked hard, sacrificed, and taught value to their family.
Blog text (34) -
Clearly, the nations of the world that most effectively use technology, and I emphasize use rather than just develop, will be the nations that create new wealth, new jobs, growing economies, and improve the overall standard of life for their citizens.
Academic text (1993) -
International statistics show an increasing gap in economic standards of life and access to education between developing and developed countries since the end of WW II.
Academic text (2010) -
Salazar's decision not to industrialize forced many Portuguese laborers to seek a better standard of life abroad.
Academic text (1998) -
Reliable reports indicate the rapid deterioration of standards of life on the African continent, with a general per capita income decline of over 20% in the past decade.
Academic text (1990) -
Consequently, a much larger proportion of the global population, as compared with the situation before the eighteenth century, now lives at more tolerable standards of life despite two terrible world wars and almost incessant lower-level warfare since 1945.
Academic text (1990) -
Many people strive to improve their standard of life through education and better job opportunities.
Synonyms
50
3.2
How much money, comfort, and services people in a country have
18
3.1
The amount of money, goods, and services people have for daily life
Antonyms
How Comfortable
507
1.3
107
2.9
1
3.3
- Formal
550
2.0
7
7.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'level of material comfort and well-being' is directly and compositionally built from 'standard' (a level or benchmark) + 'of' + 'life' (way of living), following a common noun-of-noun pattern. This construction is cross-linguistically common (e.g., French 'niveau de vie', Spanish 'nivel de vida'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Standard of life comes from the idea of a standard as a simple mark or rule used to measure life, meaning how people live and what they can afford. Imagine a ruler showing if a home reaches a certain 'level' of comfort, so the phrase now means the 'level' of comfort and well-being people have.