Meaning

(transitive) To maintain, or keep in existence..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To maintain, or keep in existence.
2. (transitive) To provide for or nourish.
3. (transitive) To encourage or sanction (something).
4. (transitive) To experience or suffer (an injury, etc.).
5. (transitive) To confirm, prove, or corroborate; to uphold.
6. (law, of a judge) To allow, accept, or admit (e.g. an objection or motion) as valid.
7. To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support.
8. To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate.

Example Sentences

The professor had trouble sustaining students’ interest until the end of her lectures.

The city came under sustained attack by enemy forces.

Sam managed to sustain his erection for two straight hours.

All the beliefs, habits, tastes, emotions, mental attitudes that characterize our time are really designed to sustain the mystique of the Party and prevent the true nature of present-day society from being perceived.

provisions to sustain an army

Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.

We rode five farsakhs today, sustained by a single bowl of curds and tortured by the wooden saddles.

The building sustained major damage in the earthquake.

Word Forms

• sustains
• sustaining
• sustained

Synonyms for sustain

Antonyms for sustain

Related Words

When Should You Use Sustain?

Use sustain when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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