uphold

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verb

Definition of UPHOLD

1

to continue to declare to be true or proper despite opposition or objections <determined to uphold her views in the face of all challenges>

Synonyms defend, justify, support, uphold

Related Words advocate, champion, espouse; confirm, vindicate, warrant; affirm, assert, aver, avouch, avow, claim, contend, insist, plead, proclaim, profess, protest, state; argue, debate, discuss; emphasize, stress, underline, underscore

Near Antonyms abandon, abjure, forsake, recant, retract, take back, withdraw; reverse, switch; controvert, disprove, rebut, refute

2

to hold up or serve as a foundation for <an entablature upheld by a series of gracefully slender columns>

Synonyms bear, bolster, brace, buttress, carry, prop (up), shore (up), stay, sustain, undergird, underpin, uphold

Related Words steady, truss, underlie

3

to move from a lower to a higher place or position <worshippers upheld their joined hands and sang the praises of the Lord>

Synonyms boost, crane, elevate, heave, heft, heighten, hike, hoist, jack (up), lift, perk (up), pick up, take up, up, uphold, uplift, upraise

Related Words ascend, mount, rise; rear, upend

Near Antonyms descend, dip, fall, pitch, plunge, slip; bear, depress, press, push; sink, submerge

Antonyms drop, lower