SURVIVE Definition & Meaning

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survive

[ ser-vahyv ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used without object)

survived, surviving.

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: ,
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)

survived, surviving.

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.

survive

/ ��əˈ��ɪ�� /

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

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Derived Forms

��ܰ�ˈ��, adjective
��ܰ�ˌ��ˈ��ٲ�, noun

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

��-��ܰ�·��i�Բ� adjective
�ܲ��ȴ�ܰ�·�� adjective
�ܲ��ȴ�ܰ�·��i�Բ� adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of survive¹

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

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of survive¹

C15: from Old French sourvivre, from Latin ��ܱ��ī��, from super- + ��ī�� to live

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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.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

However, he went on to have a distinguished military career that saw him undertake more than 30 missions and survive two crash landings during the war.

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A surviving paramedic previously told the BBC that the ambulances were clearly marked and had their internal and external lights on.

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Mayada began to count off the dead she and surviving villagers had found in the houses nearby before stopping at the thought of one her neighbors, a 15-year-old boy.

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They’re just gone and it’s up to the surviving partner to figure out if their loved one is buried and if so, where.

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The tax has survived multiple legal challenges in the last few years from the luxury real estate community, who sought to declare the measure unconstitutional.

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