survive
[ser-vahyv]
- 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.
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- 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.
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Origin of survive
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com1. persist, succeed. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
handlewithstandlastrecoverremainbearkeepliveweatherexistenduresustainsubsistsufferpersevereoutlastrevivepersistoutwearoutliveExamples from the Web for survive
Contemporary Examples
We've managed to survive, and I want to be a part of that tradition.
Of the ones that do survive, some will be too disillusioned to carry out an attack.
The longtime pals—and co-stars of The Interview—stripped down and tried to survive on the Discovery Channel reality series.
To survive on such low pay, she and her 11-year-old son share a house with another woman and four children.
The participants want to win—or at least they want to survive, and when losing means dying, winning is the only way to survive.
Historical Examples
There are too many things which survive which ought to be killed off.
Understanding the ScripturesFrancis McConnell
He should survive, even if the event were indefinitely postponed.
Quaint CourtshipsVarious
She could not understand how Kingozi managed to survive ten hours day after day.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
Granada may yet survive, if monarch and people unite together.
Leila, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
I cancel the oath now, for the knowledge of it should survive his life and mine.
Alice, or The Mysteries, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
survive
- (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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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for survive
v.
early 15c., "act or condition of one person outliving another," originally in the legal (inheritance) sense, from Anglo-French survivre, Old French souvivre, from Latin supervivere "live beyond, live longer than," from super "over, beyond" (see super-) + vivere "to live" (see vivid). Related: Survived; surviving.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper