survivalist

American  

[ser-vahy-vuh-list] / sərˈvaɪ və lɪst /

noun

1. a person who makes preparations to survive a widespread catastrophe, as an atomic war or anarchy, especially by storing food and weapons in a safe place.

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survivalist British  

/ səˈvaɪvəlɪst /

noun

1. 1. a person who believes in ensuring his personal survival of a catastrophic event by arming himself and often by living in the wild

   2. ( as modifier )

      survivalist weapons

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Other Word Forms

• survivalism noun

Etymology

Origin of survivalist

First recorded in 1965–70; survival + -ist

Example Sentences

Crowds of weekend warriors limit their ability to climb in isolation, and the region is rapidly filling up with “mansions, survivalist compounds, movie-star bungalows” and more.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 20, 2026

The survivalist film will be released by the streaming service on 24 April.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2026

In a fantastically engaging performance, Ralph Fiennes stars as the survivalist physician Ian Kelson, whom we met near the end of the previous feature.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

Without their love story, we might never have seen Bill as anything other than a belligerent survivalist and eternal curmudgeon Joel knew him to be.

From Salon • May 26, 2025

He went back to sorting through his pack, which seemed to hold a bottomless supply of cooking utensils, survivalist gear and random sports equipment.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan