Synonyms of buttress

buttress 1 of 2

noun

ˈbə-trəs 

1

as in anchor

something or someone to which one looks for support

the mother had always been the buttress of our family in trying times

Synonyms & Similar Words

• anchor
• pillar
• backbone
• reliance
• crutch
• mainstay
• standby
• dependence
• spine
• right hand
• refuge
• prop
• anchorage
• sinew(s)
• stay
• harbor
• handmaiden
• bolsterer

2

as in support

a structure that holds up or serves as a foundation for something else

after the wall collapsed, the construction company agreed to rebuild it with a buttress

Synonyms & Similar Words

• support
• shore
• pillar
• reinforcement
• mount
• brace
• mounting
• spur
• prop
• foundation
• stay
• underpinning
• column
• crutch
• arch
• shoring
• bracket
• truss
• bolster
• pedestal
• stand
• cantilever
• peg
• pilaster
• frame
• stake
• bearing
• girder
• strut
• base
• post
• stanchion
• stilt

buttress

2 of 2

verb

1

as in to sustain

to hold up or serve as a foundation for

a brace buttressed the wall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sustain
• bolster
• support
• carry
• uphold
• stay
• brace
• underpin
• undergird
• bear
• shore (up)
• prop (up)
• underlie
• steady
• truss

2

as in to reinforce

to provide evidence or information for (as a claim or idea)

a mass of circumstantial evidence buttresses the prosecutor's case

Synonyms & Similar Words

• reinforce
• bolster
• prove
• support
• corroborate
• confirm
• back
• substantiate
• establish
• verify
• shore (up)
• affirm
• validate
• avouch

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• undermine
• weaken
• undercut

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of buttress

Noun

In a modern twist on this concept, Volvo is now megacasting aluminum alloy buttress-like structures in the new EX60’s diecast rear floor. — Kristin Shaw, ArsTechnica, 20 May 2026

Researchers have been concerned that without their icy buttresses, these walls could collapse. — Megan I. Gannon, Scientific American, 6 May 2026

Verb

This steady supply of new projects will buttress a local ecosystem that has increasingly lost business to competing production hubs. — Alexander Ciccone, Oc Register, 8 June 2026

Patriotic histories, after all, had long been used to buttress the oppressive systems that these scholars now sought to unmask. — Yoni Appelbaum, The Atlantic, 8 June 2026

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