survive

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman survivre, Old French survivre, from Late Latin supervivere (“to outlive”), from Latin super (“over”) + vivere (“to live”), akin to vita (“life”). See vivid. Compare devive, revive.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /səˈvaɪv/, /səˈvʌɪv/
• (US) IPA^(key): /sɚˈvaɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪv

Verb

survive (third-person singular simple present survives, present participle surviving, simple past and past participle survived)

1. (intransitive) Of a person, to continue to live; to remain alive.
2. (intransitive) Of an object or concept, to continue to exist.
3. (transitive) To live longer than; to outlive.

   His children survived him; he was survived by his children.

   • c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     And for that dowrie, Ile aſſure her of / Her widdow-hood, be it that ſhe ſuruiue me / In all my Lands and Leaſes whatſoeuer / Let ſpecialties be therefore drawne betweene vs, / That couenants may be kept on either hand.

   • 1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter X, in Rob Roy. , volume I, Edinburgh: James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. ; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 227:

     I am afraid, as will happen in other cases, the treaty of alliance has survived the amicable dispositions in which it had its origin.

   • 2020 January 22, Stuart Jeffries, “Terry Jones obituary”, in The Guardian‎:

     Jones is survived by his second wife, Anna (nee Söderström), whom he married in 2012, and their daughter, Siri; and by Bill and Sally, the children of his first marriage, to Alison Telfer, which ended in divorce.

4. (transitive) To live past a life-threatening event.

   He did not survive the accident.

5. (transitive) To be a victim of usually non-fatal harm, to honor and empower the strength of an individual to heal, in particular a living victim of sexual abuse or assault.
6. (transitive, sports) Of a team, to avoid relegation or demotion to a lower division or league.

Synonyms

• overlive
• (live longer than): outlive

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "live longer than"): predecease

Hyponyms

• (live longer than): postdecease

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• “survive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “survive”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• viveurs

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /syʁ.viv/
• Homophones: survives, survivent

Verb

survive

1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of survivre