Synonyms of sustaining

sustaining 1 of 2

noun

as in support

Related Words

• support
• preserving
• maintenance
• custody
• guardianship
• preservation
• keep
• conservation
• upkeep
• conservancy
• safeguarding
• care
• conserving
• protection
• guarding
• defense
• safekeeping
• sustentation
• care and feeding

Dissimilar Words

• ignoring
• negligence
• neglect
• disregard
• injury
• destruction
• harm
• damage
• inattention
• hurt
• demolition
• ruin
• dereliction
• ruination

sustaining

2 of 2

verb

present participle of sustain

1

as in nurturing

to supply with nourishment

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nurturing
• satisfying
• feeding
• nourishing
• filling
• replenishing
• strengthening
• suckling
• fortifying
• satiating
• catering
• sating
• nursing
• provisioning
• boarding
• cloying
• surfeiting
• victualing

2

as in experiencing

to come to a knowledge of (something) by living through it

sustained serious injuries in the car crash

Synonyms & Similar Words

• experiencing
• undergoing
• enduring
• having
• seeing
• knowing
• feeling
• suffering
• witnessing
• receiving
• passing
• going through
• tasting
• encountering
• accepting
• meeting
• assimilating
• digesting

3

as in enduring

to put up with (something painful or difficult)

I won't sustain such insolence!

Synonyms & Similar Words

• enduring
• tolerating
• standing
• handling
• accepting
• taking
• bearing
• absorbing
• supporting
• stomaching
• swallowing
• abiding
• meeting
• wearing
• living with
• sticking out
• hacking
• countenancing
• pocketing
• standing for
• biding
• lumping (it)
• going
• suffering
• brooking
• sweating out
• permitting
• allowing
• toughing it out
• respecting
• reconciling (to)
• acquiescing
• submitting (to)
• yielding (to)
• consenting (to)
• agreeing (with or to)
• assenting (to)
• capitulating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• declining
• refusing
• rejecting
• dismissing
• fighting
• opposing
• resisting
• combating
• repudiating
• avoiding
• contesting
• turning down
• missing
• escaping
• evading
• spurning
• bypassing
• eluding
• circumventing
• dodging
• refraining (from)
• abstaining (from)
• forbearing

4

as in supporting

to hold up or serve as a foundation for

that old chair won't sustain your weight

Synonyms & Similar Words

• supporting
• carrying
• bolstering
• upholding
• staying
• underpinning
• bracing
• buttressing
• bearing
• undergirding
• underlying
• propping (up)
• shoring (up)
• steadying
• trussing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sustaining

Noun

These molecules could serve as the building blocks of more complex organic molecules, which are vital in the development and sustaining of life. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 6 Feb. 2026

Verb

Woman died at hospital after sustaining severe injuries Three people were transported to local hospitals with severe injuries, according to police. — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 7 July 2026

Commercializing fusion research NIFS’ achievements in fusion research range from sustaining plasma for 3,268 seconds to reaching temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius. — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 7 July 2026

Highly skilled professionals are spending time sustaining processes rather than generating strategic value. — Ryan Padget, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Private river water rights supply irrigation, sustaining the gardens and orchards year-round. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 7 July 2026

Ramos missed more than a month after sustaining a right quad injury in mid-May but hasn’t missed a beat since returning on June 28, hitting four homers in his last seven games. — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 7 July 2026

The company may be showing some signs of financial stabilization, but sustaining a turnaround will depend on whether change takes hold throughout the entire organization. — Andrew Staples, Fortune, 3 July 2026

Upon conducting further testing, including an MRI, it was determined that the child had survived the near-drowning while sustaining permanent brain damage, ABC 15 reported, citing the police report. — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 3 July 2026

Gudas only played 56 games last season for the Ducks, missing time late in the season — and only playing in one of Anaheim’s six first-round playoff games — after sustaining a lower-body injury in March. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 29 June 2026