sustain
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
- Synonyms:
- carry
-
to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
-
to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
- Synonyms:
- bear
-
to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
-
to keep up or keep going, as an action or process.
to sustain a conversation.
- Synonyms:
- maintain
-
to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.
-
to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.
-
to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.
-
to uphold as valid, just, or correct, as a claim or the person making it.
The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.
-
to confirm or corroborate, as a statement.
Further investigation sustained my suspicions.
verb
-
to hold up under; withstand
to sustain great provocation
-
to undergo (an injury, loss, etc); suffer
to sustain a broken arm
-
to maintain or prolong
to sustain a discussion
-
to support physically from below
-
to provide for or give support to, esp by supplying necessities
to sustain one's family
to sustain a charity
-
to keep up the vitality or courage of
-
to uphold or affirm the justice or validity of
to sustain a decision
-
to establish the truth of; confirm
noun
Usage
What are other ways to say sustain? To sustain a claim or an idea is to uphold it as valid, just or correct. How does sustain differ from the synonyms maintain, support, or uphold? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
- nonsustaining adjective
- sustainable adjective
- sustained adjective
- sustainedly adverb
- sustaining adjective
- sustainingly adverb
- sustainment noun
- unsustaining adjective
Etymology
Origin of sustain
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English suste(i)nen, from Anglo-French sustenir, Old French, from Latin sustinēre “to uphold,” equivalent to sus- sus- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre “to hold”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hodgson said human infrastructure in the South West had not been designed for this level of sustained rainfall.
From BBC
Loud and sustained whistles, cheers were heard and fireworks could be seen being launched on videos shared on social media that were verified by AFP.
From Barron's
Four staff were wounded at Dubai airport as a concourse sustained "minor damage", the facility's governing body said.
From Barron's
A sustained rise in energy costs, combined with sticky inflation, complicates the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates.
From Barron's
China, which buys roughly 80% of those exports, could be particularly exposed to sustained disruption.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
