生き延びる|いきのびるikinobiru[4]nakadaka (mid-high)

1. ichidan verb, intransitive verbto survive; to live long
   自然しぜんがそうした生き延いきのびるための手段しゅだんを与あたえているのである。↗

   Nature provides them with the means of survival.

• Synonym生き残るいきのこるNeutralSurviving when others have died; also used metaphorically for companies outlasting rivals. It centers on the survivor, while 「生き延びる」 stresses escaping death.
• Synonym生き抜くいきぬくNeutralFor living through hardship to the very end, as in 「乱世を生き抜く」; it stresses tenaciously enduring, while 「生き延びる」 stresses escaping death.
• Synonym生きながらえるいきながらえるWrittenWritten style for going on living, living long; sometimes carries a nuance of merely dragging out one's life. 「生き延びる」 stresses escaping death.
• Related生存せいぞんNeutralA Sino-Japanese noun for existence and survival, as in 「生存者」; it states the fact objectively rather than describing the act of escaping death.
• Related生きるいきるNeutralThe most basic word for being alive and living; broader than 「生き延びる」, which stresses coming through danger alive.
• Related残存ざんぞんWrittenWritten style for remaining or being left, and can also mean surviving; said mostly of things, as in 「残存兵力」, with the focus on what is left over.
• Related永らえるながらえるWrittenWritten style for living a long time, often seen as 「命を永らえる」; it stresses longevity rather than escaping death.
• Antonym死ぬしぬNeutralAntonym: to die. The direct opposite of 「生き延びる」, which means coming through alive.
• Antonym滅びるほろびるNeutralAntonym: to perish or fall into ruin and disappear; the opposite of surviving and living on.

Use 「生き延びる」 for surviving danger or disaster — coming through when you might have died. For outlasting rivals in competition say 「生き残る」, for tenaciously enduring hardship 「生き抜く」, and for a neutral, objective statement of survival use 「生存」. 「生きながらえる」 and 「永らえる」 are written words for living long; 「残存」 is written for things left over. Antonyms: 「死ぬ」, 「滅びる」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 死しぬ筈はずのところを死しなずに、命いのちが延のびる。生き長いきながらえる。