SURVIVE Definition & Meaning

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survive

[ ser-vahyv ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used without object)

survived, surviving.

to remain alive after the death of someone, the cessation of something, or the occurrence of some event; continue to live:
Few survived after the holocaust.
Synonyms: ,
to remain or continue in existence or use:
Ancient farming methods still survive in the Middle East.
to get along or remain healthy, happy, and unaffected in spite of some occurrence:
She's surviving after the divorce.

verb (used with object)

survived, surviving.

to continue to live or exist after the death, cessation, or occurrence of:
His wife survived him. He survived the operation.
to endure or live through (an affliction, adversity, misery, etc.):
She's survived two divorces.

survive

/ ��əˈ��ɪ�� /

verb

tr to live after the death of (another)
he survived his wife by 12 years
to continue in existence or use after (a passage of time, an adversity, etc)
informal.
to endure (something)
I don't know how I survive such an awful job

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Derived Forms

��ܰ�ˈ��, adjective
��ܰ�ˌ��ˈ��ٲ�, noun

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Other �y��vlog Forms

��-��ܰ�·��i�Բ� adjective
�ܲ��ȴ�ܰ�·�� adjective
�ܲ��ȴ�ܰ�·��i�Բ� adjective

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of survive¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French survivre, from Latin ��ܱ��ī��, equivalent to super- super- + ��ī�� “to live”; sur- ¹, vivid

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of survive¹

C15: from Old French sourvivre, from Latin ��ܱ��ī��, from super- + ��ī�� to live

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Synonym Study

Survive, outlive refer to remaining alive longer than someone else or after some event. Survive usually means to succeed in keeping alive against odds, to live after some event that has threatened one: to survive an automobile accident. It is also used of living longer than another person (usually a relative), but, today, mainly in the passive, as in the fixed expression: The deceased is survived by his wife and children. Outlive stresses capacity for endurance, the time element, and sometimes a sense of competition: He outlived all his enemies. It is also used, however, of a person or object that has lived or lasted beyond a certain point: He has outlived his usefulness.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Environmentalists warned limits on the water taken from the Usk were needed so species and habitats had sufficient water to survive.

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I mean surviving abolitionists, some abolitionist feminists, African Americans, other sort of labor activists, they continue to contest.

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A Palestinian paramedic who survived the attack, speaking to the BBC, challenged the Israeli account of how five ambulances, a fire engine and a UN vehicle were fired on while responding to emergency calls.

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At the hospital, doctors said she was lucky to survive.

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The officer confirmed a prosecution for manslaughter would have been brought had Mr Woods survived.

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