as in independent
able to take care of oneself or itself without outside help
with its own farm, the estate was largely self-sustaining
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Recent Examples of self-sustaining
Artistic efforts should be self-sustaining as patrons finance them, not continually maintained by government subsidies.
—
Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Antares is currently in the final phase of the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program, with a goal to achieve criticality—a stable, self-sustaining nuclear fission reaction—before July 4, 2026.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 23 Apr. 2026
Leading to a self-sustaining economic loop where revenue generated from global-facing media products is reinvested directly into local wages, taxes, and services, fostering a stable foundation for multi-generational upward mobility.
—Stephanie Tharpe, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Billionaire Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the vision of paving the way to create a self-sustaining colony on the Red Planet.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2025
There’s no way to know which push was most important in the flywheel reaching this self-sustaining velocity.
—Pete Sampson, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
However, bacterial cells typically limit their production to self-sustaining levels.
—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
While self-sustaining travel to Mars is still a few years away, the new brine processor on the ISS has increased the water recovery rate enough that this 98% goal is now in reach.
—Berrin Tansel, The Conversation, 30 July 2025
In addition to its momentum and self-sustaining nature, drive has another advantage over motivation: It can be developed and strengthened over time.
—Ryan McGrath, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Antares is currently in the final phase of the Department of Energy’s Reactor Pilot Program, with a goal to achieve criticality—a stable, self-sustaining nuclear fission reaction—before July 4, 2026.
—Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 23 Apr. 2026
Leading to a self-sustaining economic loop where revenue generated from global-facing media products is reinvested directly into local wages, taxes, and services, fostering a stable foundation for multi-generational upward mobility.
—Stephanie Tharpe, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Billionaire Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the vision of paving the way to create a self-sustaining colony on the Red Planet.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 22 Aug. 2025
There’s no way to know which push was most important in the flywheel reaching this self-sustaining velocity.
—Pete Sampson, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
However, bacterial cells typically limit their production to self-sustaining levels.
—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
While self-sustaining travel to Mars is still a few years away, the new brine processor on the ISS has increased the water recovery rate enough that this 98% goal is now in reach.
—Berrin Tansel, The Conversation, 30 July 2025
In addition to its momentum and self-sustaining nature, drive has another advantage over motivation: It can be developed and strengthened over time.
—Ryan McGrath, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-sustaining
independent
Adjective
-
Investors had cheered the talks and the prospect of change at a fiercely independent company that had relied on decades-old relationships.—
Edwin Chan,
Bloomberg,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Trevor Bauer, the former Cy Young Award winner and MLB All-Star, tossed a no-hitter for the independent Long Island Ducks in a 13-0 win over the Lancaster Stormers on Sunday afternoon at Penn Medicine Park in Pennsylvania.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-sustaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-sustaining. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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