Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One who prepares for possible dangers such as natural disasters, societal collapse, or nuclear war, as by stockpiling necessary supplies or acquiring survival skills.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A person who believes in being prepared to survive and is actively preparing for possible future emergencies and disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun someone who tries to insure their personal survival or the survival of their group or nation

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Or perhaps a flea market, where the detritus of a capitalist culture gets recycled in survivalist fantasia below a mythological rural idyll.

    Locavore Utopia 2008

  • If you could tell us a little bit about that training when you're looking for someone who is called a survivalist, someone who knows very well how to operate in the caves and to go, as he said, to where no man or dog can reach him?

    CNN Transcript May 31, 2003 2003

  • Shaun Gallon, whom authorities described as a survivalist, faces up to four years in prison for shooting James McNeil of Monte Rio with an arrow Jan. 27.

    SFGate: Top News Stories 2009

  • In the meantime, since we're clearly in danger, I may switch to a more "survivalist" bicycle, like this one which was forwarded to me by a reader:

    Keeping Up Appearances: Filling the House, Clearing the Bike Lane BikeSnobNYC 2010

  • Oddly, the more bike-friendly the city gets, the more popular the expensive "survivalist" look becomes.

    Consumer Innovation: Putting the Solution Before the Problem BikeSnobNYC 2010

  • If I find out of those are camping or "survivalist" substitutes, I'll report back later.

    Current Affairs 2009

  • If I find out of those are camping or "survivalist" substitutes, I'll report back later.

    Nature 2009

  • I have been thinking a lot about the motivations for developing a "survivalist" mind set.

    Survival Preparation for Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2009

  • I want to focus on the stigma that surrounds the "survivalist" mind set.

    Survival Preparation for Mr. and Mrs. Smith 2009

  • About twelve years ago, I researched a book, a suspense thriller that dealt with far-right extremist thought (which included Clinton hatred) that was encapsulated in the "survivalist" phenomenon.

    Deanie Mills: Dewey Wins 2008

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