This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
survive
[ ser-vahyv ]
/ sərˈvaɪv /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
verb (used without object), sur·vived, sur·viv·ing.
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.
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), sur·vived, sur·viv·ing.
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.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of survive
synonym study for survive
1. 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.
OTHER WORDS FROM survive
self-sur·viv·ing, adjectiveun·sur·vived, adjectiveun·sur·viv·ing, adjectiveWords nearby survive
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use survive in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for survive
survive
/ (səˈvaɪv) /
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
Derived forms of survive
survivable, adjectivesurvivability, nounWord Origin for survive
C15: from Old French sourvivre, from Latin supervīvere, from super- + vīvere to live
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012