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[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     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^[1]:

     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

• convive
• devive
• revive
• vivid

 

Translations

person: continue to live

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: نَجَا (najā)
• Armenian: ողջ մնալ (oġǰ mnal), կենդանի մնալ (kendani mnal), ապրել (hy) (aprel), փրկվել (hy) (pʻrkvel)
• Asturian: sobrevivir
• Belarusian: перажыва́ць impf (pjeražyvácʹ), перажы́ць pf (pjeražýcʹ)
• Bulgarian: преживя́вам (bg) impf (preživjávam), преживе́я pf (preživéja), оцеля́вам (bg) impf (oceljávam), оцеле́я pf (oceléja)
• Catalan: sobreviure (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 生存 (zh) (shēngcún), 存活 (zh) (cúnhuó)

• Czech: přežívat impf, přežít (cs) pf,
• Danish: overleve (da)
• Dutch: overleven (nl)
• Esperanto: postvivi, supervivi, transvivi
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Faroese: yvirliva
• Finnish: selviytyä (fi), jäädä henkiin, jäädä eloon
• French: survivre (fr)
• Galician: sobrevivir
• Georgian: სიკვდილს გადარჩენა (siḳvdils gadarčena), გადარჩენა (gadarčena)
• German: überleben (de)
• Greek: επιβιώνω (el) (epivióno)

  Ancient: διαζάω (diazáō), περιλείπομαι (perileípomai)

• Guaraní: jeikove
• Higaonon: naluwas
• Hungarian: életben marad (hu)
• Indonesian: sintas (id), menyintas, bertahan hidup
• Interlingua: superviver
• Irish: tar, tar slán
• Italian: sopravvivere (it)
• Japanese: 生き残る (ja) (いきのこる, ikinokoru), 生き抜く (いきぬく, ikinuku), 残存する (ja) (せいぞんする, seizon suru)
• Korean: 생존하다 (ko) (saengjonhada), 살아남다 (ko) (saranamda)
• Ladino: sovrebivir
• Latin: supersum (la), vivo (la), reliquus sum, reliquus sum, vitam supero, superstitem sum, supersto
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Luxembourgish: iwwerliewen
• Macedonian: преживува impf (preživuva), преживее pf (preživee)
• North Frisian: (Föhr-Amrum) auerlewe
• Norwegian: overleve (no)

  Bokmål: overleve (no)

• Occitan: subreviure (oc)
• Old English: alibban, aspedan, gedigan, nesan, oferlibban, belæfan
• Polish: przeżywać (pl) impf, przeżyć (pl) pf, przetrwać (pl)
• Portuguese: sobreviver (pt)
• Romanian: supraviețui (ro)
• Russian: выжива́ть (ru) impf (vyživátʹ), вы́жить (ru) pf (výžitʹ), пережива́ть (ru) impf (pereživátʹ), пережи́ть (ru) pf (perežítʹ), остава́ться в живы́х impf (ostavátʹsja v živýx), оста́ться в живы́х pf (ostátʹsja v živýx), уцелева́ть (ru) impf (ucelevátʹ), уцеле́ть (ru) pf (ucelétʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: преживља́вати impf, прежи́вети pf, прежи́вјети pf

  Roman: preživljávati (sh) impf, prežíveti (sh) pf, prežívjeti (sh) pf

• Slovak: prežívať impf, prežiť pf,
• Slovene: preživẹ́ti (sl) pf
• Spanish: sobrevivir (es), pervivir (es)
• Swedish: överleva (sv)
• Turkish: hayatta kalmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: пережива́ти impf (perežyváty), пережи́ти (uk) pf (perežýty), вижива́ти impf (vyžyváty), ви́жити pf (výžyty), вцілі́ти pf (vcilíty)
• Vietnamese: sống sót (vi) (𤯨𡄰)
• Yiddish: איבערלעבן (iberlebn)
• Zazaki: weş menden

object, concept: continue to exist

• Arabic: نَجَا (najā)
• Armenian: գոյատևել (hy) (goyatewel)
• Catalan: sobreviure (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 殘存／残存 (zh) (cáncún)

• Dutch: overleven (nl)
• Finnish: selvitä (fi), selviytyä (fi), jäädä henkiin, jäädä eloon
• Galician: sobrevivir
• German: überleben (de)
• Greek: επιβιώνω (el) (epivióno)

  Ancient: δῐᾰμένω (diaménō)

• Hebrew: שרד (he) (sarád)
• Hungarian: tovább él, fennmarad (hu), megmarad (hu)
• Indonesian: bertahan (id)
• Latin: supersto, supersum (la), supestitem sum, vitam supero, reliquus sum, vivo (la)
• Luxembourgish: iwwerliewen
• Norwegian: overleve (no)
• Polish: przeżywać (pl) impf, przeżyć (pl) pf
• Portuguese: sobreviver (pt)
• Romanian: supraviețui (ro)
• Russian: выжива́ть (ru) impf (vyživátʹ), вы́жить (ru) pf (výžitʹ), пережива́ть (ru) impf (pereživátʹ), пережи́ть (ru) pf (perežítʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: опстати

  Roman: opstati (sh)

• Slovene: preživeti (sl), obstati
• Spanish: sobrevivir (es), pervivir (es)
• Ukrainian: вижива́ти impf (vyžyváty), ви́жити pf (výžyty)
• Yiddish: איבערלעבן (iberlebn)

live longer than

• Ancient Greek: διαζάω (diazáō)
• Asturian: sobrevivir
• Bulgarian: надживявам (nadživjavam)
• Catalan: sobreviure (ca)
• Dutch: overleven (nl)
• Esperanto: postvivi
• Finnish: elää pitempään, elää kauemmin
• Galician: sobrevivir
• German: überleben (de)
• Hungarian: túlél (hu)
• Italian: durare (it)
• Latin: vivo (la), vitam supero, supersto, supersum (la), superstitem sum, reliquus sum
• Luxembourgish: iwwerliewen
• Norwegian: overleve (no), leve lenger enn
• Polish: przeżyć (pl)
• Portuguese: sobreviver (pt)
• Romanian: supraviețui (ro)
• Russian: пережива́ть (ru) impf (pereživátʹ), пережи́ть (ru) pf (perežítʹ)
• Spanish: sobrevivir (es)
• Swedish: överleva (sv)
• Yiddish: איבערלעבן (iberlebn)

live past a life-threatening event

• Arabic: نَجَا (najā)
• Asturian: sobrevivir
• Azerbaijani: sağ qalmaq (az), sağ çıxmaq
• Bulgarian: преживявам (bg) (preživjavam)
• Catalan: sobreviure (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 活下來／活下来 (huóxiàlái), 幸存 (zh) (xìngcún), 生還／生还 (zh) (shēnghuán),

• Dutch: overleven (nl)
• Esperanto: travivi (eo)
• Finnish: selviytyä (fi), jäädä henkiin, jäädä eloon
• Galician: sobrevivir
• Greek: επιζώ (el) (epizó), γλιτώνω (el) (glitóno)

  Ancient Greek: ἐπιζάω (epizáō)

• Guaraní: jeikove
• Hebrew: שרד (he) (sarád)
• Hungarian: túlél (hu)
• Italian: perdurare (it)
• Latin: supersum (la), vivo (la), supersto, superstitem sum, vitam supero, reliquus sum
• Luxembourgish: iwwerliewen
• Polish: przeżyć (pl)
• Portuguese: sobreviver (pt)
• Romanian: supraviețui (ro)
• Russian: пережива́ть (ru) impf (pereživátʹ), пережи́ть (ru) pf (perežítʹ)
• Spanish: sobrevivir (es), pervivir (es)
• Zazaki: nêmerden

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