Survive
What it means
To remain alive or continue through serious difficulty.
Reach for it when describing continued life, existence, or function through serious difficulty
The rescued saplings survived the dry summer.
Words to choose between 7
| everyday |
|
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
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everyday
Fits when continuing longer than a threat, rival, or expected limit matters
Careful Outlast frames survival competitively and can sound callous about people.
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warm
make it through
Fits when conversational reassurance suits a difficult period
Careful The phrase can minimize grave trauma if used too lightly.
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warm
pull through
Fits when recovery from illness or immediate danger is hoped for
Careful It does not fit institutions, traditions, or species continuing over generations.
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professional
persist
Fits when a pattern, practice, or condition continues despite pressure
Careful Calling a person persistent shifts attention from survival to effort.
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formal
endure
Fits when bearing hardship over time is the central fact
Careful Endure stresses suffering and may not mean remaining alive.
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formal
remain
Fits when simple continued existence is all the evidence supports
Careful Remain omits the hardship that makes survival meaningful.
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literary
weather
Fits when someone or something comes through a difficult period intact
Careful Weather suits temporary adversity, not every life-threatening event.
Opposites 3
- perish
- succumb
- collapse
Common phrases 3
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survive the winter
The young olive trees need shelter to survive the winter.
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survive a crisis
Small museums often rely on local donors to survive a crisis.
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struggle to survive
The rescued colony continued to struggle to survive after the drought.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: TreeMama, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated