Synonyms of sustains

sustains

verb

present tense third-person singular of sustain

1

as in nurtures

to supply with nourishment

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nurtures
• satisfies
• nourishes
• feeds
• satiates
• fills
• replenishes
• suckles
• fortifies
• strengthens
• caters
• sates
• cloys
• provisions
• surfeits
• boards
• nurses
• victuals

2

as in undergoes

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

sustained serious injuries in the car crash

Synonyms & Similar Words

• undergoes
• experiences
• has
• endures
• sees
• feels
• knows
• suffers
• witnesses
• goes through
• receives
• tastes
• passes
• encounters
• accepts
• meets
• assimilates
• digests

3

as in endures

to put up with (something painful or difficult)

I won't sustain such insolence!

Synonyms & Similar Words

• endures
• tolerates
• stands
• accepts
• takes
• handles
• absorbs
• bears
• supports
• meets
• abides
• wears
• swallows
• stands for
• sticks out
• lives with
• brooks
• suffers
• lumps (it)
• countenances
• bides
• goes
• pockets
• stomachs
• allows
• sweats out
• hacks
• permits
• toughs it out
• respects
• acquiesces
• reconciles (to)
• yields (to)
• agrees (with or to)
• capitulates
• submits (to)
• consents (to)
• assents (to)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• refuses
• rejects
• dismisses
• declines
• opposes
• resists
• repudiates
• spurns
• avoids
• escapes
• turns down
• fights
• combats
• misses
• evades
• eludes
• bypasses
• contests
• circumvents
• dodges
• refrains (from)
• abstains (from)
• forbears

4

as in supports

to hold up or serve as a foundation for

that old chair won't sustain your weight

Synonyms & Similar Words

• supports
• carries
• bolsters
• stays
• upholds
• underpins
• undergirds
• bears
• underlies
• shores (up)
• buttresses
• braces
• steadies
• props (up)
• trusses

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sustains

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me. —Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 9 Apr. 2026

According to Grunsfeld, this is what sustains the Artemis II crewmembers during fearful moments, such as when an indicator suggested a cabin leak that turned out to be a false alarm. —Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026

Like all good centre-forwards, Suarez sustains his healthy goalscoring rate with a range of scrappy goals and close-range finishes, fuelled by his sense of anticipation in the box. —Thom Harris, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026

Once again, the sun that sustains all of us will appear—first, its wispy corona and then the stunning brilliance of its disk. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 6 Apr. 2026

That framing, analysts say, helps explain how the system sustains itself even under pressure. —Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 5 Apr. 2026

The Iran war hasn’t yet taken on the coloration of an economic threat, although that bulks large on the horizon if the disruption of oil supplies created by the closing of the Strait of Hormuz continues or tightens or the Middle East energy infrastructure sustains more damage. —Michael Hiltzik, Boston Herald, 3 Apr. 2026

The answer is that the chlorophyll pigment dominant in green leaves is more efficient at triggering photosynthesis — the process by which plants make the sugar that sustains them — than the pigments dominant in darker leaves. —Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2026

Rimsky-Korsakov sustains that urgency, creating a narrative through music that moves and reshapes itself in surprising ways. —Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 28 Mar. 2026