survivor
survivor — noun
1. someone who stays alive after an accident, disaster, illness, or attack that kil
someone who stays alive after an accident, disaster, illness, or attack that killed or seriously hurt other people.
Rescuers pulled the last survivor from the collapsed building on Tuesday morning.
common collocation: pull a survivor from
Only three survivors of the plane crash were found near the mountain village.
pattern: survivor of + disaster event
Hiro is a cancer survivor who now coaches teenagers through their treatment.
The museum displays letters written by survivors of the war.
Doctors said the boy was the sole survivor of the boat accident.
文法句型
survivor of + event
用法筆記
Often appears with 'of' plus the dangerous event (survivor of cancer, of war, of the crash). Frequently modified by 'sole', 'lone', or 'only' when one person lived through something that killed many.
常見錯誤
2. someone with a strong character who keeps going and rebuilds their life after bi
someone with a strong character who keeps going and rebuilds their life after big problems such as job loss, divorce, abuse, or financial trouble.
After losing the bakery and her marriage in one year, Élise proved she was a true survivor.
collocation: a true / real survivor
Don't worry about Selim — he's a survivor and will land another job soon.
informal reassurance about resilience
The novel follows three women who become survivors of poverty and abuse.
Caio always describes his grandmother as a born survivor who never complains about hardship.
- quitter
informal; someone who gives up when things get hard
文法句型
a (real / true / born) survivor
用法筆記
Often used as a compliment about character, with no preceding 'of' phrase. Distinguish from sense 1: here the danger is emotional or financial hardship, not a life-threatening event.
常見錯誤
3. the family members, usually a husband, wife, or children, who are still alive af
the family members, usually a husband, wife, or children, who are still alive after someone has died, especially as listed in an obituary or a will.
Mr. Chidi's survivors include his wife, two daughters, and four grandchildren in Lagos.
formal obituary pattern: survivors include
The pension will be paid to the survivors named in Noa's will.
legal context: survivors named in a will
On Sunday morning Mr. Tanaka read the obituary and saw Mrs. Park's survivors listed beneath her photo.
Ari left the small farm to a young nephew in Buenos Aires, her only living survivor.
- next of kin
the closest living relative, often singular and used for legal notification
- heirs
those who inherit property, which may overlap with survivors but is about inheritance
- dependents
people who relied on the deceased financially
文法句型
[possessive] survivors include...
用法筆記
Typical of obituaries, wills, and insurance documents; rare in everyday speech. Almost always plural and possessed (his survivors, her survivors), and usually paired with verbs like 'include' or 'are listed as'.