A living or continuing longer than, or beyond the existence of, another person, thing, or event; an outliving. [1913 Webster]
Any habit, usage, or belief, remaining from ancient times, the origin of which is often unknown, or imperfectly known. [1913 Webster]
"The close bearing of the doctrine of survival on the study of manners and customs." [1913 Webster]

Survival of the fittest. (Biol.) See Natural selection, under Natural.

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

survival, n.
1 the process or an instance of surviving.
2 a person, thing, or practice that has remained from a former time.

Idiom

survival kit emergency rations etc., esp. carried by servicemen. survival of the fittest the process or result of natural selection.

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THESAURUS

survival

abidingness, afterglow, afterimage, age, ancient manuscript, antique, antiquity, archaism, artifact, balance, butt, butt end, candle ends, cave painting, chaff, constancy, continuance, debris, defeat of time, defiance of time, detritus, diuturnity, durability, durableness, duration, end, endurance, eolith, fag end, filings, fossil, holdover, husks, lastingness, leavings, leftovers, long standing, long-lastingness, long-livedness, longevity, maintenance, mezzolith, microlith, neolith, odds and ends, offscourings, orts, paleolith, parings, perdurability, perennation, permanence, perpetuity, persistence, petrification, petrified forest, petrified wood, petroglyph, plateaulith, rags, refuse, relic, relics, reliquiae, remainder, remains, remnant, residue, residuum, rest, roach, rubbish, ruin, ruins, rump, sawdust, scourings, scraps, shadow, shavings, stability, standing, steadfastness, straw, stubble, stump, survivance, sweepings, trace, vestige, waste

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ROGET THESAURUS

survival

Remainder

N remainder, residue, remains, remanent, remnant, rest, relic, leavings, heeltap, odds and ends, cheesepairings, candle ends, orts, residuum, dregs, refuse, stubble, result, educt, fag-end, ruins, wreck, skeleton, stump, alluvium, surplus, overplus, excess, balance, complement, superplus, surplusage, superfluity, survival, survivance, remaining, left, left behind left over, residual, residuary, over, odd, unconsumed, sedimentary, surviving, net, exceeding, over and above, outlying, outstanding, cast off, superfluous.

Diuturnity

N diuturnity, a long time, a length of time, an age, a century, an eternity, slowness, perpetuity, blue moon, coon's age, dog's age, durableness, durability, persistence, endlessness, lastingness, continuance, standing, permanence, survival, survivance, longevity, distance of time, protraction of time, prolongation of time, extension of time, delay, durable, lasting, of long duration, of long-standing, permanent, endless, chronic, long-standing, intransient, intransitive, intransmutable, persistent, lifelong, livelong, longeval, long-lived, macrobiotic, diuturnal, evergreen, perennial, sempervirent, sempervirid, unrelenting, unintermitting, unremitting, perpetual, lingering, protracted, prolonged, spun out, long-pending, long-winded, slow, long, for a long time, for an age, for ages, for ever so long, for many a long day, long ago, longo intervallo, all the day long, all the year round, the livelong day, as the day is long, morning noon and night, hour after hour, day after day, for good, permanently.

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