survive

[ser-vahyv]

verb (used without object)

survived, surviving 

1. 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: succeed, persist

2. to remain or continue in existence or use.

   Ancient farming methods still survive in the Middle East.

3. 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 

1. to continue to live or exist after the death, cessation, or occurrence of.

   His wife survived him. He survived the operation.

2. to endure or live through (an affliction, adversity, misery, etc.).

   She's survived two divorces.

survive

/ səˈvaɪv /

verb

1. (tr) to live after the death of (another)

   he survived his wife by 12 years

2. to continue in existence or use after (a passage of time, an adversity, etc)

3. informal,  to endure (something)

   I don't know how I survive such an awful job

Other Word Forms

• survivable adjective
• survivability noun
• self-surviving adjective
• unsurvived adjective
• unsurviving adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of survive¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of survive¹

C15: from Old French sourvivre, from Latin supervīvere, from _super- + vīvere to live

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.

Example Sentences

Suddenly he is functionally better equipped to survive than the humans who brought him along.

From Salon

Ojeh survived for more than a year and a half after his diagnosis.

From Los Angeles Times

She is survived by her husband, the Duke of Kent, aged 89, and their two sons and a daughter.

From BBC

Knowing how capable I am of throwing myself into another human being, I’m not in a hurry to go out there and discover if I can survive another relationship.

From Los Angeles Times

The remaining siblings — sisters Gizmo and Sunny — survived.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bear 
• endure 
• exist 
• get through 
• handle 
• keep 
• last 
• live 
• recover 
• remain 
• ride out 
• subsist 
• suffer 
• sustain 
• weather 
• withstand