Sustain (verb)
sus·tain [suh-steyn]
verb (used with object)
1. to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
2. to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
3. to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
4. to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
5. to keep up or keep going, as an action or process: to sustain a conversation.
6. to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.
7. to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.
8. to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.
9. to uphold as valid, just, or correct, as a claim or the person making it: The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.
10. to confirm or corroborate, as a statement: Further investigation sustained my suspicions.
OTHER WORDS FROM SUSTAIN
sus·tain·a·ble, adjective
sus·tain·ed·ly [suh-stey-nid-lee, -steynd-] , adverb
sus·tain·ing·ly, adverb
sus·tain·ment, noun
non·sus·tained, adjective
non·sus·tain·ing, adjective
pre·sus·tained, adjective
un·sus·tained, adjective
un·sus·tain·ing, adjective
well-sus·tained, adjective
WORDS RELATED TO SUSTAIN
preserve, bolster, help, defend, assist, continue, nurse, save, buoy, withstand, undergo, feel, tolerate, see, have, suffer, feed, befriend, buttress, supply
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
1. carry. See support.
3. bear.
5. maintain.
Origin: 1250–1300; Middle English suste ( i ) nen < Anglo-French sustenir, Old French < Latin sustinere to uphold, equivalent to sus- sus- + -tinere, combining form of tenere to hold
EXAMPLE SENTENCES FROM THE WEB FOR SUSTAIN
A winning team may pack the stadium, but you need that packed stadium to get top recruits and sustain victories.
HOW THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN BADGERS ARE BUCKING THE BIG TEN TICKET FLOP|BRIAN WEIDY|OCTOBER 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How long can they sustain this momentum without falling victim to the same pitfalls as nearly every other long-running series?
WILL GARDNER HAD TO DIE SO THAT ‘THE GOOD WIFE’ COULD THRIVE|JASON LYNCH|SEPTEMBER 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Duhozanye has the land and the need, but lacks the $300,000 it will cost to build and sustain.
AFTER THE GENOCIDE, RWANDA’S WIDOWS AGING ALONE|NINA STROCHLIC|AUGUST 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But fluctuations of mere feet during its flood season could sustain the rise of empires, or hasten their fall.
THE NILE: WHERE ANCIENT AND MODERN MEET|WILLIAM O’CONNOR|JUNE 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Moreover, any truly effective coordination would be politically controversial, logistically problematic, and hard to sustain.
HOW IRAN AND AMERICA CAN BEAT ISIS TOGETHER|BEN VAN HEUVELEN|JUNE 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But now the boiler proved to be too small to furnish steam steadily in sufficient quantity to sustain the higher speed.
A HISTORY OF THE GROWTH OF THE STEAM-ENGINE|ROBERT H. THURSTON
For the most part, they were not unwilling to sustain the Turkish Government.
WITH THE TURKS IN PALESTINE|ALEXANDER AARONSOHN
Of all the property spared them by previous oppressors, nothing was left to sustain the miserable survivors.
THE RISE OF THE HUGENOTS, VOL. 1 (OF 2)|HENRY MARTYN BAIRD
Of course we were rather substantial, and our wings did seem too thin and small to sustain us satisfactorily.
LIFE ON THE STAGE|CLARA MORRIS
How, then, could I hope to sustain a week of isolation in that lonely spot?
THE MONK AND THE HANGMAN'S DAUGHTER|ADOLPHE DANZIGER DE CASTRO AND AMBROSE BIERCE
