survival

[ ser-vahy-vuhl ]

noun

1. the act or fact of surviving, especially under adverse or unusual circumstances.
2. a person or thing that survives or endures, especially an ancient custom, observance, belief, or the like.
3. Anthropology. (no longer in technical use) the persistence of a cultural trait, practice, or the like long after it has lost its original meaning or usefulness.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or for use in surviving, especially under adverse or unusual circumstances:

   survival techniques.

survival

/ səˈvaɪvəl /

noun

1. a person or thing that survives, such as a custom
2. 1. the act or fact of surviving or condition of having survived
   2. ( as modifier )

      survival kit

Other Words From

• nonsur·vival noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of survival¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; survive + -al ²

Example Sentences

“With careers collapsing and organisations struggling to keep afloat, artists are increasingly having to leave the industry completely, and arts organisations are diminishing their output as they fight for survival,” she said.

From BBC

Brown’s survival and willingness to talk to law enforcement helped ensure the case was impossible to ignore, Gyamfi said.

From Los Angeles Times

But Conservative peer Brady said planned "extreme redistribution" would "replace our brilliant but brutal meritocracy with the likelihood of a closed shop where survival not aspiration becomes a ceiling".

From BBC

More than 80,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year, and the five-year relative survival rate is 74%.

From Los Angeles Times

But gaslighting is a central factor in the operation of fascism, and the failure of media in liberal democracies even to recognize its existence, much less to fight it, puts the very survival of liberal democracy at risk.

From Salon

Related Words

• continuity
• durability
• endurance