SUSTAINS Synonyms: 106 Similar and Opposite Words

sustains

verb

present tense third-person singular of sustain

as in nurtures

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in undergoes

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in endures

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in supports

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 sustains Pascale’s cello generally swoops and sustains while Katzmann’s saxophone jitters in search. —

Emma Madden, Pitchfork, 11 June 2026 Integrity sustains football’s ability to inspire trust and respect. —

Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026 Health departments around the country are now grappling with sudden cuts to the federal funding that sustains their health data collection and health promotion activities. —

Candice Johnson, The Conversation, 10 June 2026 Feeding the orbs To test how LiPfe sustains itself, Jobson’s team exposed its explants to isotopically labeled amino acids and ammonium. —

Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026 Today, the sea forest still sustains coastal communities and fisheries—a living system shaped by countless relationships between species, ocean currents, and people. —

Tatjana Baleta, Time, 28 May 2026 And in part, that’s because the technology that sustains it has become so complicated and so complex that no one can be across all of it. —

Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 25 May 2026 Over the last two years, 30,000 to 40,000 Russian men have been inducted into the rolls every month, enough to replace the 30,000 or so casualties the Russian army sustains on the battlefield on a monthly basis. —

Daniel Depetris, Mercury News, 23 May 2026 Over the last two years, 30,000 to 40,000 Russian men have been inducted into the rolls every month, enough to replace the 30,000 or so casualties the Russian army sustains on the battlefield on a monthly basis. —

Daniel Depetris, Twin Cities, 15 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sustains

Verb

The festivals specialist, who nurtures close ties to Hollywood, revived Taormina’s competitive strands and brought major names such as Martin Scorsese to speak at the festival in her return year.

— Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 4 June 2026
Still, the internet nurtures these Hobbesian, splenetic views.

— Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 24 May 2026