survive

verb

(intransitive) Of a person, to continue to live; to remain alive.

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

(transitive) To live longer than (someone); to outlive (someone or something); to outlast (something).

(intransitive) Of an object or concept, to continue to exist.

(intransitive) To be a victim of nonfatal but substantial harm and nonetheless to display the strength to heal; especially, after a crime or an illness, especially sexual or physical abuse or assault, cancer, or a natural disaster.

(intransitive, sports) Of a team, to avoid relegation or demotion to a lower division or league.

Roots

supersur- · Latin · over, above vivo-viv · Latin · live

Synonyms for survive

outlivev outlastv endurev subsistv perennatev livev existv copev sustainv perseverev prevailv lastadj perdure persistv

Synonyms & related words for survive

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of survive — including outlive, outlast, endure, subsist, perennate, live. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to survive

Explore words related to survive — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include overlive, survivable, survivability, withstand, survival, thrive, thriver, ectogenous. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for survive

Common synonyms for survive include outlive, outlast, endure, subsist, perennate, live, exist, cope — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does survive come from?

The word survive breaks down into 2 roots of Latin origin: sur-, from Latin super (“over, above”); and -viv, from Latin vivo (“live”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.