bolstered

past tense of bolster
1
as in sustained
to hold up or serve as a foundation for used additional beams to bolster the ceiling

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in reinforced
to provide evidence or information for (as a claim or idea) a couple of tournament wins would bolster the extravagant claims that have been made on behalf of the young golfer

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bolstered All of these factors are bolstered by people who contribute to the creation of new businesses and the growth of existing ones. Ben Zweig, Time, 23 Oct. 2025 The market said the choice was a reflection of the country’s growing footprint as an international location, bolstered by a 30 percent cash rebate, as well as its bubbling local cinema scene led by the likes of Nabil Ayouch, Faouzi Bensaïdi, Asmae El Moudir, Halima Ouardiri and Maryam Touzani. Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2025 His ambitions are bolstered by his father, Larry Ellison, Oracle’s executive chairman, who currently ranks as the second-richest man in the world. Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025 Plenty of Mustangs over the years have bolstered that shape with big wings on the rear, but none have received the kind of aerodynamic augmentation seen on the GTD. Tim Stevens, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2025 The raucous screening of the film was bolstered by audience participation and the Little Morals shadow cast. Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 23 Oct. 2025 The Patriots bolstered their pass rush depth Monday by claiming Caleb Murphy off waivers from the Chargers. Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 22 Oct. 2025 The book looks at how such pop music came to dominate Coachella’s headlining slots, how the festival’s cutting edge livestream bolstered growth and how the rise of social media helped make the polo field into a weekend-long catwalk for models, movie stars, influencers and other cultural luminaries. Billboard Staff, Billboard, 21 Oct. 2025 Lawrence has bolstered the Seahawks’ four-man rush. Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bolstered
Verb
  • The building and its contents sustained around $100,000 in damage during the fire, WIVB reported.
    Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 26 Oct. 2025
  • But a career cannot be sustained on hate alone.
    Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Steven Adler published an analysis showing that ChatGPT repeatedly and falsely reinforced one man’s delusions and psychological distress.
    Diane Brady, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2025
  • The universal love is the applause, either heard in person or received from afar, a love reinforced by the sense of an instant, intimate family—a life backstage or in the trailer, far more interesting than the often unhappy family left behind.
    Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Sacramento led by as many as 20 and carried a 71-54 lead into the halftime break.
    Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The team’s elite rotation of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani has carried the load thus far.
    Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Scalable design, performance focus YASA’s breakthrough has been supported by the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre and designed with scalability in mind.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Perlmutter and his wife, Laura, have supported healthcare and education initiatives through their foundation, including a more than $50 million donation to NYU’s Langone Medical Center earmarked for cancer research.
    Melanie Hicken, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • She was sentenced to die by firing squad and Indonesia’s highest court upheld it in 2013.
    CNN Money, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Advertisement The long-running free speech consensus upheld by left-leaning civil libertarians and conservative First Amendment hawks alike has been complicated by questions created by a once inconceivably powerful social media machine.
    John Wihbey, Time, 20 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bolstered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bolstered. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on bolstered

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!