Library / English Dictionary

SUSTAIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Undergo (as of injuries and illnesses)

Example:

He got his arm broken in the scuffle

Synonyms:

get; have; suffer; sustain

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "sustain" is one way to...):

experience; get; have; receive (go through (mental or physical states or experiences))

Verb group:

have (suffer from; be ill with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

break down; collapse (collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack)

cramp (suffer from sudden painful contraction of a muscle)

break up; collapse; crack; crack up; crock up (suffer a nervous breakdown)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts

Example:

The evidence supports the defendant

Synonyms:

affirm; confirm; corroborate; substantiate; support; sustain

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

back; back up (establish as valid or genuine)

vouch (give supporting evidence)

verify (confirm the truth of)

demonstrate; establish; prove; shew; show (establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment)

document (support or supply with references)

validate (prove valid; show or confirm the validity of something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

sustainable (capable of being sustained)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Admit as valid

Example:

The court sustained the motion

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "sustain" is one way to...):

acknowledge; admit (declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

sustainable (capable of being sustained)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Supply with necessities and support

Example:

There's little to earn and many to keep

Synonyms:

keep; maintain; sustain

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "sustain" is one way to...):

have; have got; hold (have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

patronage (support by being a patron of)

reseed (maintain by seeding without human intervention)

carry (keep up with financial support)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

sustenance (the financial means whereby one lives)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Provide with nourishment

Example:

This kind of food is not nourishing for young children

Synonyms:

nourish; nurture; sustain

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Hypernyms (to "sustain" is one way to...):

cater; ply; provide; supply (give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

carry (be able to feed)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

sustainable (capable of being sustained)

sustainment (the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence)

sustenance (a source of materials to nourish the body)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Be the physical support of; carry the weight of

Example:

What's holding that mirror?

Synonyms:

hold; hold up; support; sustain

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

scaffold (provide with a scaffold for support)

block (support, secure, or raise with a block)

carry (bear or be able to bear the weight, pressure,or responsibility of)

chock (support on chocks)

buoy; buoy up (keep afloat)

pole (support on poles)

bracket (support with brackets)

underpin (support from beneath)

prop; prop up; shore; shore up (support by placing against something solid or rigid)

truss (support structurally)

brace (support by bracing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 7

Meaning:

Lengthen or extend in duration or space

Example:

keep up the good work

Synonyms:

keep up; prolong; sustain

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "sustain" is one way to...):

bear on; carry on; continue; preserve; uphold (keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

continue; keep; keep on; retain (allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

sustainable (capable of being sustained)

sustainer (someone who upholds or maintains)

sustenance (the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Translocation of phosphorylated ERK/MAPK to the nucleus leads to amplification and de-restriction of TFF expression to ensure sustained action.

(Mucosal Healing Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

I speak as a magistrate, Sir Lothian, but I am always ready to sustain my opinions as a man.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he began, amid a sustained interruption from the back.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And this result better explains the long-term complications that these preterm babies sustain as they grow older, which include significant challenges with learning, memory and attention.

(Lack of Oxygen, Not Blood Flow, Delays Brain Maturation in Preterm Infants, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This was the point—this was where the nerve was touched and teased—this was where the fever was sustained and fed: she could not charm him.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The route allows sustained therapeutic plasma drug levels and avoids first pass effect.

(Percutaneous Route of Administration, NCI Thesaurus)

A measurement of the total number of instances in which there has been a termination of pregnancy happening before the fetus is able to sustain independent life.

(Number of Abortions, NCI Thesaurus)

As a result, this may relieve symptoms associated with prostate hypertrophy or prostate cancer, since testosterone is required to sustain prostate growth.

(Abarelix, NCI Thesaurus)

With sustained use, the effects of tachycardia and enhanced alertness diminish while psychotoxic effects such as hallucinations and delusions may occur.

(Amphetamine, NCI Thesaurus)

Rate only increase in movement both in and out of mouth, not inability to sustain movement.

(AIMS - Tongue, NCI Thesaurus)