überlebend

Überlebend is a German adjective formed from the verb überleben with the present participle suffix -nd, meaning surviving or still alive after a dangerous event. It describes something that continues to exist or a being that remains alive following hardship, disaster, or time. The related noun is das Überleben, meaning survival.

In practice, überlebend is used mostly attributively, for example in phrases like die überlebende Population or überlebende Arten. Predicative use is rare; to state that something is surviving, speakers more commonly use constructions such as die Population lebt noch or das Tier ist noch am Leben. The word can also appear in scientific or journalistic writing to highlight continuity of life after an adverse event.

The noun form referring to people or beings who have survived is Überlebende (plural: die Überlebenden). This noun is capitalized as a proper noun, and it can denote survivors in contexts ranging from disaster reports to historical or literary discussions.

Etymologically, überlebend shares its root with Überleben (survival) and the verb überleben (to survive). It is distinct from related terms such as untergegangen (perished) or ausgestorben (extinct), which describe the absence of life rather than its continuity. The term is widely understood in German-speaking contexts and appears in ecology, archaeology, journalism, and fiction to emphasize persistence of life after challenges.