Meaning & use
survival
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Meanings
noununcountable
The fact of staying alive or continuing to exist despite danger, hardship or difficult conditions.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: their survival was in doubt.
Patterns
- the survival of something
- survival of the fittest
- survival rate
The survival of the small shop depends on loyal customers.
Their survival after three days in the mountains surprised the rescuers.
The study looked at the survival of young birds during the winter.
nouncountableformal
Something that remains from an earlier time, such as a custom or object that continues to exist.
Grammar: Countable in this sense: a survival from the past.
Patterns
- a survival from something
- a survival of something
The festival is a survival from medieval times.
That spelling is a survival of an older pronunciation.
The village church is a rare survival of the original settlement.
nounbefore a noun
Used before another noun to describe skills, equipment or situations connected with staying alive in a harsh place.
Grammar: Works like an adjective in compounds: survival skills, survival kit.
Patterns
- survival skills
- survival kit
- survival instinct
Every hiker should carry a basic survival kit.
The course teaches survival skills such as building a shelter.
Her survival instinct kicked in when the water began to rise.
Word forms
| plural | survivals |
|---|
Common combinations
- survival rate
- The survival rate for this illness has improved greatly.
- fight for survival
- The charity is fighting for survival after losing its funding.
- survival of the fittest
- Some people think business is simply survival of the fittest.
- survival skills
- Camping taught the kids useful survival skills.
- ensure survival
- Good shelter ensured the survival of the whole group.
- chances of survival
- The chances of survival were slim after the crash.
Synonyms and how they differ
- endurance
- Endurance stresses lasting through hardship over a long time, while survival simply means staying alive.
- existence
- Existence is the plain fact of being, while survival implies danger or difficulty.
- persistence
- Persistence suggests continuing in spite of obstacles by effort, while survival can happen without any effort.
- continuation
- Continuation is neutral and suggests going on, whereas survival suggests a threat that was overcome.
Opposites
Word family
- survive verb
- to stay alive or keep existing after danger
- survivor noun
- a person who lives through a dangerous event
- surviving adjective
- still alive or still existing
- survivalist noun
- a person who trains to live through disaster
Commonly confused: survival or survivor?
survival vs survivor
Survival is the state or fact of surviving, while a survivor is the person who has survived.
Practice
Which sentence uses survival correctly?
Choose one answer.
Survival is a noun, so it follows the and takes of plus a noun phrase. The other options misuse it as a verb or in an unnatural pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “survival”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.