surviving 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of survivingnext
as in extant

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

surviving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of survive
1
as in living
to come safely through the cat miraculously survived a two-story fall

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lasting
to continue to operate or to meet one's needs some old-world customs still survive in modern-day America

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of surviving
Verb
Months later, the Austin City Council approved a $35 million settlement covering the three surviving men and Pierce’s family. — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026 Why the dome may have survived An object this large surviving reentry is not necessarily unusual. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026 There’s also been some discussion about the scene in the church, where the surviving Slow Horses raise a drink to Coe and not to Flyte or their other dead colleagues, and then Lamb takes a longer drink. — K.j. Yossman, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026 In 1972, William Greaves brought together an extraordinary gathering of surviving artists, writers, and cultural luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance at Duke Ellington’s townhouse for an afternoon of debate, reflection, laughter, and exchange. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026 The film will draw on never-before-soon footage, new interviews with surviving members and archival clips from Christine McVie, who died in 2022. — Spin Staff, SPIN, 22 Oct. 2026 Flanagan incorporates video interviews as a framing device, in which surviving witnesses recount their memories of the tragic events. — ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026 The Jockey Club was surviving on restaurant sales and catering contracts, and Crawford had to lay off most of his employees. — Abe Streep, ProPublica, 21 Oct. 2026 In the two years since Payne’s death, each surviving member has returned to making music. — Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surviving
  1. extant
  2. living
  3. lasting
  4. existing
  5. weathering
  6. prevailing
  7. current
  8. enduring
Adjective
  • The Ramos Gin Fizz thrives as the last extant representative of the category, like Macy’s Herald Square or modern day Vienna, a decadent and baroque monument to a once-vast empire.
    — Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 17 Oct. 2026
  • To be clear, none of these can be detected with our extant fleet of telescopes.
    — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of extant
Verb
  • That followed the violence during nationwide protests Saturday against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images Police clash with protesters during a demonstration amid a nationwide mobilisation over rising living costs, fuel prices and education funding in Paris, France, on October 18, 2026.
    — Sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of living
Verb
  • Later in the third, Baker led an 11-play, 66-yard drive lasting six-and-a-half minutes that ended with his 2-yard touchdown pass to Bockler.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Electrons move so quickly inside atoms and molecules that studying their behavior requires flashes of light lasting just a fraction of a billionth of a billionth of a second.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of lasting
Adjective
  • The parties have met twice since and still have not settled on how existing treaties should govern the technique.
    — Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The distortions are especially striking given the actor’s pre-existing place in the pantheon of TV moms.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of existing
Verb
  • The airline is weathering much higher prices for aviation fuel, with quarterly costs topping $4 billion, a 69% increase year over year.
    — Mirtha Donastorg, AJC.com, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Condor said that Spire is not concerned about finding rides to orbit, and her confidence is indicative of Spire’s long history in the launch industry and past experience weathering a rapidly shifting market.
    — Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of weathering
Verb
  • Although his roles were ostensibly romantic leads, Astaire had an almost radically unorthodox appeal—one that, in its urbanity, cosmopolitanism, elegance, and grace, challenged the prevailing standards for male movie stardom.
    — David Hajdu, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
  • There is not a significant maturity wall ahead of us that is an immediate threat in terms of rolling over the French debt at prevailing yields.
    — , CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of prevailing
Adjective
  • Instead of relying on an external mechanical tool to move the molecule, the current itself powers the motion.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • If the current odds in all those states hold, the Democrats would win 18 out of 35 races and shift the majority from 53-47 for the Republicans to 52-48 for the Democrats.
    — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of current
Verb
  • The film offers an intimate portrait of a defining intellectual voice while examining the enduring question of who has the right to tell their own story.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Affordable electric bikes usually mean enduring heavy frames, clunky kick-in for the motor and unrefined, unpredictable power delivery.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of enduring

Browse Nearby Words

survives
surviving
survivorship
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Surviving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surviving. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of disparate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All