survive Hear it!

survive Definition

sur·vive (sər vīv′)

transitive verb -·vived′, -·viv′·ing

  1. to live or exist longer than or beyond the life or existence of; outlive
  2. to continue to live after or in spite of to survive a wreck

Etymology: ME surviven < OFr survivre < L supervivere < super-, above (see super-) + vivere, to live (see bio-)

intransitive verb

to continue living or existing, as after an event or after another's death

survive Synonyms

survive

v.

  1. To live on

    outlive, outlast, outwear, live down, live out, weather the storm, make out, persist, persevere, last, remain, keep the wolf from the door, pull through, live through, get through, come through, keep afloat, get on; see also endure 1.

  2. To endure

    bear, suffer through, withstand, sustain; see endure 2.

survive Usage Examples

Object

  • spouse: The surviving spouse is a potential beneficiary as are the children and so on.
  • termination: Sections 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8 will survive any termination of this License.
  • ordeal: So from darkest Prague, I wish you well... and hope you survive the ordeal of having to watch all my films.
  • onslaught: Music has survived the latest onslaught, being the least changed of all the curriculum areas.
  • winter: You should plant outside any adult plant that has even a remote chance of surviving winter.
  • son: Edwin was then the eldest surviving son, four brothers having died in infancy.

Preposition: on

diet: Dogs can survive happily on an almost vegetarian diet which would make your cat very ill.

Preposition: as

earthwork: This suggests that the ditch and bank either survived as an earthwork or was remembered as a boundary in this period.

Noun phrase with adjective complement

intact: The smaller " fluffy " ones however, will often survive entry intact because of their large surface to mass ratios.

Preposition: into

adulthood: Mary's sister, Anne, gave birth to ten children but none survived into adulthood.

Adjective complement

  • intact: Only 10 % of both major types of peatland have survived intact.
  • unchanged: The Greyfriars burial ground in Perth, located close to the city center, has survived relatively unchanged through five centuries of urban development.
  • untouched: Stonehenge and its landscape survived relatively untouched for thousands of years.

Followed by an intransitive particle

through: Which would you expect to have survived through to the present?

Used with why or when

when: They do not carry a points penalty because this helps rebels to survive when playing against strong armies.

Infinitive complement

reproduce: We now have people who could be regarded as genetically weak, surviving to reproduce.

Preposition: in

  • wilderness: We will teach you how to survive in the wilderness.
  • manuscript: Both survive in a single ancient manuscript each; they evidently were not widely read.
  • fragment: Little is known of Sappho's life, and her work survives only in fragments.
  • environment: Find out how we find the resources we need ( water, food, energy and shelter ) to survive in these different environments.