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

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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 The weekly jobs report stole the spotlight, as an unexpected jump to multiyear highs bolstered fears about cracks in the labor market. Alex Harring, CNBC, 12 Sep. 2025 In doing so, lottery officials said the player ended up with three $50,000 winning tickets, meaning her $2 mistake bolstered her win to $150,000. Daniella Segura, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025 Keeping Peppers would have bolstered their depth, their talent and reinforced the violent defense Vrabel wants. Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 12 Sep. 2025 In the last 10 years, cybersecurity defenses have been bolstered through CISA 2015, a law passed by Congress and signed by former President Barack Obama that establishes a framework for information sharing around threats, vulnerabilities and attacks. Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025 That ease is being bolstered by a new image of cruising shaped in no small part by social media. Lauren Dana Ellman, AFAR Media, 11 Sep. 2025 Additionally, Social Security needs to be bolstered, experts say. Medora Lee, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025 Thorpe is a braggart whose own extravagance is bolstered by imagining everyone else to be immensely wealthy. Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2025 But while a federal crime crackdown looms over the city, a possible move only bolstered by the violent Labor Day weekend, local street outreach workers remain focused on their efforts to clamp down on the violence in the neighborhood. Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bolstered
Verb
  • White Bear Lake was inside the red zone, trailing by six in the fourth quarter when star quarterback Oluwatomi Animasaun sustained an injury that forced him to exit the contest on fourth down.
    Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 13 Sep. 2025
  • These state powerhouses both sustained narrow defeats to out-of-state opponents during opening week.
    Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • As the fireline is constructed, inspected or reinforced, mappers record those details to adjust the containment percentage.
    CA WILDFIRE BOT, Sacbee.com, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Data on job growth continues to fall short of forecasts, and downward revisions to past figures from the Department of Labor have reinforced the view that the Fed may need to stimulate consumer spending, lower borrowing costs and encourage investment to prevent a labor market crisis.
    Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Only three currently represent districts Harris carried last year.
    W. James Antle III, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The guardrail to this application is ensuring the rules, framework and sourcing are continually validated, and that assumptions are not allowed to be carried versus validated continually.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The research, published in Nature Photonics, was supported by the Army Research Office, NSF, DARPA, and NASA’s JPL.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 13 Sep. 2025
  • What began as a handful of campus groups now stretches across more than 3,500 high schools and universities, supported by dozens of full-time staff who manage student activists like a professional sales force.
    Samantha-Jo Roth, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • In January, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld legislation requiring ByteDance to divest or face a nationwide ban.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2025
  • If the 12-match ban is upheld, Berthoumieu will miss France’s upcoming semifinal against England on Saturday and either the bronze medal game or the final on September 27 as well as a further 10 matches in her domestic championship.
    Ben Morse, CNN Money, 16 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bolstered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bolstered. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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