Examine after an attack - expected to survive (7)
I believe the answer is:
fittest
'expected to survive' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'examine after an attack' is the wordplay.
'examine' becomes 'test' (synonyms).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'an attack' becomes 'fit' (fit is a kind of attack).
'test' after 'fit' is 'FITTEST'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for fittest that I've seen before include "Most suitable" , "most sound" , "'Survival of the - - '" , "Healthiest" , "superlatively healthy" .)