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Definition of supportnext
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as in to maintain
to pay the living expenses of a young widow supporting a sick mother as well as two small children on a teacher's salary

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in to sustain
to hold up or serve as a foundation for pillars supporting the bridge

Synonyms & Similar Words

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as in to reinforce
to provide evidence or information for (as a claim or idea) studies that support the claim that red wine drinkers have a reduced risk of coronary disease and cancer

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word support different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of support are advocate, back, champion, and uphold. While all these words mean "to favor actively one that meets opposition," support is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given.

supports waterfront development

When could advocate be used to replace support?

While in some cases nearly identical to support, advocate stresses urging or pleading.

advocated prison reform

Where would back be a reasonable alternative to support?

In some situations, the words back and support are roughly equivalent. However, back suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling.

refusing to back the call for sanctions

When can champion be used instead of support?

The words champion and support are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, champion suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause.

championed the rights of children

When is it sensible to use uphold instead of support?

While the synonyms uphold and support are close in meaning, uphold implies extended support given to something attacked.

upheld the legitimacy of the military action

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 support
Noun
Russia’s support for Tehran has been operationally meaningful but carefully bounded. — Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026 Trucking, radiology, paralegals, customer support, translators, illustrators, junior developers, all going to disappear. — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
Another chorus of thoughts and prayers Members of the Bend community gathered downtown in Drake Park on Thursday evening for a prayer vigil to support each other and grieve. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 However, Samsung supports manual photo tagging on compatible devices. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for support
Recent Examples of Synonyms for support
Noun
  • But as that approach began to deliver diminishing returns, and freely available human data started to dry up, the labs have leaned much more on post-training and reinforcement learning.
    — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The researchers trained the machine using reinforcement learning, enabling it to navigate obstacles and perform dynamic movements.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • And those striving for zest under these circumstances may benefit from assistance from a mental health professional like a psychologist, a physical health provider like a physician, or a personal trainer or fitness instructor.
    — Joan M. Cook, Time, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The government plans to support participating companies through loan guarantees and assistance with administrative requirements.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • El Sayed argued that the technology needed federal oversight, while Rogers advocated local oversight but defended the use of some surveillance processes in identifying people suspected of terrorism.
    — Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Kubrick, who had always had misgivings about the scene but kept it in after his daughter Vivian advocated for it, decided to remove the epilogue after the first few days of exhibition.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The government, however, has maintained that the ban on the group does not prevent lawful protests in support of pro-Palestinian causes.
    — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Some maintain refugees will not have enough time to defend their status under the new policy.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The work is intended to help transfer specialized nuclear-submarine design knowledge, improve technical coordination and strengthen the industrial capabilities required to build and sustain advanced submarines over their operational lifetimes.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Expect winds to be sustained winds of 20-25mph with gusts of 30-40mph possible and humidity low overnight recoveries of 30-35% will drop to 15-20% through the morning.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Matt Schnaars, president of platform distribution and partnerships for NBCUniversal, reinforced Shapiro’s observations in a separate session.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The audience response has reinforced interest in experiencing independent films on the big screen and helped inform ABFF’s expansion into theatrical distribution.
    — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The targeting of civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, particularly airports, illustrates the retaliatory logic the Houthis have invoked to justify their actions.
    — Laurent Bonnefoy, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
  • There is always a new spectacle, a new gimmick to lure people into a theater and justify the cost of a ticket.
    — Sam Fleischner, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Opponents say Prop 134 takes decision making away from parents and could lead to invasive exams to verify a kid's gender.
    — Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Unanswered questions The Star has been unable to independently verify that the officer had a green light and the Audi ran the red light, or that the police cruiser had its lights and sirens on.
    — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Support.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/support. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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