sur-VEYE-ving
/sɚˈvaɪvɪŋ/
surviving is pronounced sur-VEYE-ving (/sɚˈvaɪvɪŋ/). Surviving is the act of continuing to live or exist, especially in the face of hardship, danger, or adversity. It conveys endurance over time, often implying adaptation and resilience. The term can describe people, organisms, or situations that persist despite challenging circumstances.
Surviving is the act of continuing to live or exist, especially in the face of hardship, danger, or adversity. It conveys endurance over time, often implying adaptation and resilience. The term can describe people, organisms, or situations that persist despite challenging circumstances.
"After the flood, the town was exhausted but surviving, with aid workers coordinating the cleanup."
"The lone wolf was surviving on minimal prey and scarce water in the harsh desert."
"She’s thriving in her new role, but she’s still surviving the long hours of training."
In US/UK/AU, it’s three syllables: /sərˈvaɪ.vɪŋ/ (US/UK) or /səˈvaɪ.vɪŋ/ (AU). The primary stress is on the second syllable: vaɪ. Start with /s/ + a schwa, then the stressed /ˈvaɪ/ as in ‘eye’, followed by /vɪŋ/. Lip rounding is light for the initial schwa, then a tight jaw for the long diphthong /aɪ/. End with a short, neutral /ɪŋ/ without extra vowel after the n.
Common mistakes: flattening the /aɪ/ into a simple /a/ or /ɪ/; pronouncing /ˈvaɪ/ as /ˈviː/ (not true length, it’s a diphthong). Another frequent error is adding an extra vowel after the /ŋ/ or misplacing the primary stress. Keep the /ɪŋ/ as a clipped ending and don’t voice the final consonant as an /ŋ/ with a nasal release beyond the word’s end. Ensure the syllable boundary is clear: sur-vi-ving, with emphasis on the middle syllable.
US and UK share /sərˈvaɪ.vɪŋ/ or /səˈvaɪ.vɪŋ/ but US tends to a stronger rhotic rhotic /ɝ/ equivalent in unstressed syllables, while UK may reduce the first syllable more toward a schwa /ə/. Australian often aligns with UK but can be flatter in the second syllable, with a non-rhotic tendency similar to UK; the /ɪŋ/ ending is consistently short. Across all, the key is the /ˈvaɪ/ stress and keeping the diphthong tight.
The challenge is the mid-word stress on /ˈvaɪ/ and the diphthong /aɪ/ followed by a quick, clipped /vɪŋ/. Many learners vocalize the ending too much, turning it into /ˈvaɪ.vɪ.ŋ/ or stretch the /ɪ/ before /ŋ/. Also, the initial /sər/ can blur into /sər/ or /sur/; keep the schwa-light /ər/ or /ə/ so the second syllable carries the core weight.
A unique consideration is the syllable boundary: sur-vi-ing splits across three units, with the primary stress on the second syllable. Ensure that the /ˈvaɪ/ is crisp and not diluted by the adjacent /r/ or /ər/; the /r/ is light or non-rhotic in some accents, but remains slightly audible in rhotic dialects. Practicing with minimal pairs that differ in stress and syllable count can help anchor the rhythm.
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US: rhotic /r/ often touches the preceding vowel in connected speech; UK: non-rhotic, less vocalic on the initial /r/; AU: generic non-rhotic with vowel quality leaning toward British patterns; Use IPA as anchor: US /sərˈvaɪ.vɪŋ/, UK /səˈvaɪ.vɪŋ/, AU /səˈvaɪ.vɪŋ/. Focus on reducing post-diphthong vowels and maintaining the mid-word stress on /ˈvaɪ/.
Surviving derives from the verb survive, which comes from Old French survivre (to survive, outlive) from late Latin supervivere, from Latin super- ‘over, above’ + vivere ‘to live’. The sense evolved from “to outlive” or “to live beyond” to include enduring hardship and continuing existence. In Middle English, surviving appeared as a participial form denoting ongoing endurance rather than mere continuation. The Oxford English Dictionary records usage dating back to the 14th century, though the more modern sense of enduring life through peril became prominent in the 19th and 20th centuries, paralleling increased interests in resilience, survival skills, and personal endurance narratives. The verb’s semantics broadened to cover figurative persistence (e.g., surviving a difficult year) in addition to literal continuation of life, and today it commonly collocates with adversity, dangers, or challenging environments.
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Words that rhyme with "surviving"
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