What is life?

Lol I love all the dictionary kids trying to come off as whitty by giving synonyms to the topic, rather than giving an actul response.

Life in itself is a concept, and a very understood one at that. Although we've multiple theories,(both logical and illogical),as to HOW it actually happened, we have no DEFINITE answer.

So, part of your question is completely unanswerable as it is based on opinion.
However, you can discuss the probability of the available theories
1) Intelligent design: The concept that an unknown force created life.
-- Intelligent design includes any and all religious (non-science based theories). These are theories that are largely philosophical, but may also be logical.
Problem with intelligent design look on life: Often arguments for intelligent design lack deductive reasoning, or any scientific approach at explaining how life came about in the universe.This is,again, partly because these philosophies were developed in ancient times.
HOWEVER- There is underlying logic in all Intelligent design theories.
"Something cannot come from nothing."
This is to say that everything that currently exists in the universe, MUST have been created, or come into place, because of SOMEONE, or SOMEHTING.Simply restated, if there is NOTHING IN EXISTENCE, there cant be SOMETHING existing. You don't just have 0 matter, energy, or mass in one instant, and than infinnite amounts of all three the next.

This is where the scientific approach comes in.

These explaination's of life, are really open ended ideas, and observations.
Because these explaination's are limited to available information, rather than philosophy or basic reasoning, they may be harder to understand.

A person attempting to refute intelligent design, might start at square 1 which is in general, Darwin's masterpiece. As religions offer little to no -scientific- or logical explaination as to how our OWN species developed, or the other species on the planet, intelligent design becomes an easy target. However, this is only because the debate has changed from one of reasoning, to personal preference. Believing in intelligent design does not tag you as religious at all, and this is not always understood.

Science would say, that one day everything we are and will ever be bursted into existence in one wild moment. No explaination as to why though; which is the largest problem but on of it's greatst perks. If you choose ONLY to look at facts and data, you cannot draw any definite conclusions, and thus cannot be proven wrong. However it is the same in vicer-versa, as nobody can or will ever prove the existence, or lack of existence, of the driving source of life.

Also, it is important to differentiate OUR life, from lower life.
Amoeba's, single-celled organisms, even rodents, insects, all those creatures do not experience Life as we do. They do not ever look around and question, they are like computers programmed and enslaved by their DNA.
Human's are clearly much different, as we experience sentiency, which may truely be called life in it's highest form to date.

Our life, is free choice, all other creatures are only trying to survive in as little pain as possible, so as to pass on their DNA to their offspring. This is also a MAJOR part of life that must be understood. Life is life, because it drive's those it has created, to experience for as long as possible.

This is the very foundation on which our entire understanding of Life is based.

P.S.
I apologize for the massiva wall of text, but I hate to start something and not finish it. If I had more time, I would have gone on for hours in a much more organized fashion.