SUSTAIN Synonyms: 106 Similar and Opposite Words

sustain

verb

sə-ˈstān

Definition of sustain

as in to nurture

to supply with nourishment a granola bar should sustain you long enough to last until lunch

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in to undergo

to come to a knowledge of (something) by living through it sustained serious injuries in the car crash

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in to endure

to put up with (something painful or difficult) I won't sustain such insolence!

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to carry

to hold up or serve as a foundation for that old chair won't sustain your weight

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 sustain Looking to the future, Mastrangelo foresees an industrywide return to small-batch practice as a template for sustaining one’s business. — Adrian Madlener, Curbed, 30 Sep. 2026 Tabuk airport said in a statement that the captain and co-pilot who had sustained injuries were sent to a hospital for medical treatment. — Gerry Shih, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026 As energy consumption climbs rapidly from data centers and artificial intelligence workloads, SMR deployments may provide the round-the-clock power grid operators need to sustain growth. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2026 Individual resilience alone can’t sustain a workforce through prolonged and compounding change. — Christine Muldoon, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sustain

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sustain

Verb

For four months, the Napa grower spent four to five hours a day tending four giant pumpkin plants, watching their vines, nurturing their fruit and waiting to see just how big one of them might get.

— Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 4 Oct. 2026
Bellen's parents focused more on nurturing their children's gifts and interests like entrepreneurship and education and supporting their endeavors.

— Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of nurture

Verb

The two new satellites underwent integration and testing at SFL’s facility in Vaughan, Ontario.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Oct. 2026
The pursuit of greater efficiency has also been applied to the company’s workforce, which has undergone recent layoffs.

— Sam Birchall, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of undergo

Verb

The companies and economies that endure will be the ones that can balance growth, resilience and sustainability—and change before outside pressure forces them to.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
The play is a gently unfolding, calmly delivered tale of the decades of horrors endured by a real-life person named Eddie Jaku.

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of endure

Verb

In July, the Drug Enforcement Agency proposed temporarily designating 7-OH above a certain threshold of potency as Schedule I, the category for drugs that carry the most risk without any medical benefit.

— Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 30 Sep. 2026
Smith accepted a deal from prosecutors in March, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of carry

Verb

People can experience grief, sadness, relief, conflict or combinations of these emotions after any pregnancy outcome.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
The ancient Egyptian city will experience an extraordinary 6 minutes 23 seconds of totality, close to the longest possible anywhere on Earth that day.

— Jamie Carter, Space.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of experience

Verb

Goktas said political humor had been tolerated in the past and the laws regarding insult had not changed.

— ABC News, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2026
Fazio is cast as a superhero in one ad, strong enough to save Connecticut from expensive electricity and high taxes tolerated by Lamont.

— Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of tolerate

Verb

SeaGuardian is the maritime variant of the MQ-9B Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) operated by the USN as part of a Company-Owned, Company-Operated (COCO) contract with GA-ASI supporting an ongoing capability assessment for the 7th Fleet.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
That is an extraordinarily broad claim, and current evidence does not support it.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of support

Browse Nearby Words

suspiring

sustain

sustainable

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Sustain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sustain. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of sustain

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

regimen

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes