Synonyms for sustain
səˈsteɪnsus·tain

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. sustain

   A person may bear a load either when in motion or at rest; he carries it only when in motion. The stooping Atlas bears the world on his shoulders; swiftly moving Time carries the hour-glass and scythe; a person may be said either to bear or to carry a scar, since it is upon him whether in motion or at rest. If an object is to be moved from the place we occupy, we say carry; if to the place we occupy, we say bring. A messenger carries a letter to a correspondent, and brings an answer. Take is often used in this sense in place of carry; as, take that letter to the office. Carry often signifies to transport by personal strength, without reference to the direction; as, that is more than he can carry; yet, even so, it would not be admissible to say carry it to me, or carry it here; in such case we must say bring. To lift is simply to raise from the ground, tho but for an instant, with no reference to holding or moving; one may be able to lift what he could not carry. The figurative uses of carry are very numerous; as, to carry an election, carry the country, carry (in the sense of capture) a fort, carry an audience, carry a stock of goods, etc. Compare CONVEY; KEEP; SUPPORT.

   Synonyms:
   bear, bring, carry, convey, lift, move, remove, take, transmit, transport

   Antonyms:
   drop, fall under, give up, let go, shake off, throw down, throw off

   Preposition:
   To carry coals to Newcastle; carry nothing from, or out of, this house; he carried these qualities into all he did; carry across the street, over the bridge, through the woods, around or round the corner; beyond the river; the cable was carried under the sea.

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. prolong, sustain, keep upverb

   lengthen or extend in duration or space

   "We sustained the diplomatic negotiations as long as possible"; "prolong the treatment of the patient"; "keep up the good work"

   Synonyms:
   have, suffer, keep up, keep, draw out, nurture, support, hold up, hold, confirm, protract, follow, extend, get, corroborate, maintain, nourish, substantiate, affirm, keep abreast, preserve, conserve, prolong

2. suffer, sustain, have, getverb

   undergo (as of injuries and illnesses)

   "She suffered a fracture in the accident"; "He had an insulin shock after eating three candy bars"; "She got a bruise on her leg"; "He got his arm broken in the scuffle"

   Synonyms:
   bring forth, take, dumbfound, ache, make, endure, mystify, experience, develop, draw, have, maintain, hold, become, confirm, receive, keep, scram, consume, go, stimulate, sire, drive, engender, put up, fix, pay back, digest, get under one's skin, suffer, stick, puzzle, set about, affirm, get down, incur, deliver, hurt, contract, abide, grow, prolong, beat, stomach, start, tolerate, birth, arrest, accept, meet, brook, give, bring, bewilder, mother, own, buzz off, catch, set out, let, feature, obtain, beget, substantiate, flummox, get, generate, stand, have got, find, amaze, take in, vex, start out, convey, capture, give birth, aim, induce, throw, perplex, lose, stupefy, gravel, begin, stick out, fetch, nourish, father, bear, nurture, hold up, arrive, corroborate, produce, acquire, come, keep up, pay off, pose, possess, support, bugger off, cause, ingest, nonplus, commence, baffle

3. nourish, nurture, sustainverb

   provide with nourishment

   "We sustained ourselves on bread and water"; "This kind of food is not nourishing for young children"

   Synonyms:
   have, suffer, keep up, keep, nurture, support, hold up, hold, bring up, confirm, foster, nutrify, rear, aliment, get, corroborate, maintain, nourish, substantiate, affirm, raise, prolong, parent

4. sustain, keep, maintainverb

   supply with necessities and support

   "She alone sustained her family"; "The money will sustain our good cause"; "There's little to earn and many to keep"

   Synonyms:
   retain, conserve, get, support, hold back, corroborate, exert, affirm, hold on, hold up, continue, stay fresh, wield, have, go along, defend, assert, celebrate, hold open, keep, proceed, nurture, keep up, observe, nourish, go on, hold, uphold, confirm, save, preserve, prevent, restrain, keep open, suffer, keep on, asseverate, maintain, prolong, keep back, substantiate

5. hold, support, sustain, hold upverb

   be the physical support of; carry the weight of

   "The beam holds up the roof"; "He supported me with one hand while I balanced on the beam"; "What's holding that mirror?"

   Synonyms:
   take, hold in, hold out, make, endure, fend for, affirm, view as, underpin, carry, book, concur, have, maintain, hold, last, moderate, corroborate, confirm, retain, nourish, nurse, defy, support, go, stick up, keep up, patronise, guard, prevail, declare, withstand, adjudge, tolerate, indorse, accommodate, abide, control, prolong, stomach, harbour, patronage, live, reserve, check, hold back, stick out, brook, give, take hold, go for, patronize, deem, apply, stand up, obtain, substantiate, survive, get, bind, stand, have got, entertain, plunk for, live on, curb, back, restrain, keep, concord, keep back, oblige, throw, arrest, hold water, contain, back up, suffer, bear, nurture, subscribe, take for, hold up, harbor, detain, defend, put up, confine, keep going, bear out, admit, digest, plump for, endorse, halt, obligate, agree, delay

6. sustainverb

   admit as valid

   "The court sustained the motion"

   Synonyms:
   keep up, get, confirm, nourish, prolong, maintain, hold up, affirm, nurture, substantiate, support, suffer, have, corroborate, keep, hold

7. confirm, corroborate, sustain, substantiate, support, affirmverb

   establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts

   "his story confirmed my doubts"; "The evidence supports the defendant"

   Synonyms:
   actualise, realise, abide, embody, verify, get, support, stomach, defend, plunk for, hold up, substantiate, keep going, actualize, back, have, avow, fend for, patronise, stick out, assert, back up, keep, digest, nurture, keep up, corroborate, endorse, validate, reassert, hold, confirm, bear out, incarnate, affirm, swan, subscribe, brook, indorse, body forth, tolerate, suffer, endure, stand, aver, maintain, prolong, nourish, realize, patronize, underpin, plump for, patronage, put up, swear, bear

Matched Categories

1. • Admit
   • Experience
   • Have
   • Supply

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. keep

   Submitted by rinat on August 7, 2019  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. sustainverb

   Synonyms:
   bear, support, uphold, preserve, hold up, keep from falling

2. sustainverb

   Synonyms:
   nourish, maintain, subsist, keep alive, supply with food

3. sustainverb

   Synonyms:
   suffer, undergo, endure

4. sustainverb

   Synonyms:
   sanction, approve, confirm, ratify

5. sustainverb

   Synonyms:
   justify, prove, establish, confirm

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "sustain":

   maintain, support, keep, maintaining, preserve, retain, uphold, maintenance, underpin, continue, sustaining, supporting, keeping

How to pronounce sustain?

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How to use sustain in a sentence?

1. Noam Chomsky:

   There is no reason to accept the doctrines crafted to sustain power and privilege, or to believe that we are constrained by mysterious and unknown social laws. These are simply decisions made within institutions that are subject to human will and that must face the test of legitimacy. And if they do not meet the test, they can be replaced by other institutions that are more free and more just, as has happened often in the past.

2. Virginia Crocheron Gildersleeve:

   I was resolved to sustain and preserve in my college the bite of the mind, the chance to stand face to face with truth, the good life lived in a small, various, highly articulate and democratic society.

3. Barack Obama:

   He said, 'Ah, Mr. President, you don't understand society here. This is all going to be fine. It'll blow over.' And it didn't, but the trendline is one that I will sustain throughout the rest of my presidency and that is to make an argument to those friends and allies of ours that if they want a society that is going to be able to sustain itself in this age, then they're going to have to change how they do business.

4. Henry David Thoreau:

   Arthur Schopenhauer Only he is successful in his business who makes that pursuit which affords him the highest pleasure sustain him.

5. Epictetus:

   All philosophy lies in two words Sustain and Abstain.