Survive in the open before bad turns (7)
I believe the answer is:
outlive
'survive' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'open before bad turns' is the wordplay.
'open' becomes 'out' (I've seen this in other clues).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'bad' becomes 'evil' (similar in meaning).
'turns' is a reversal indicator.
'evil' in reverse letter order is 'live'.
'out'+'live'='OUTLIVE'
'in the' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for outlive that I've seen before include "Go on longer than" , "Survive beyond (another)" , "weather" , "Survive longer than" , "Die after" .)