uphold

1 to continue to declare to be true or proper despite opposition or objections determined to uphold her views in the face of all challenges Synonyms defend, justify, support, maintainRelated Words advocate, champion, espouse; confirm, vindicate, warrant; affirm, assert, aver, avouch, avow, claim, contend, insist, plead, proclaim, profess, protest, state; argue, debate, discuss; emphasize, stress, underline, underscoreNear Antonyms abandon, abjure, forsake, recant, retract, take back, withdraw; reverse, switch; controvert, disprove, rebut, refute

2 to hold up or serve as a foundation for an entablature upheld by a series of gracefully slender columns Synonyms bear, bolster, brace, buttress, carry, prop (up), shore (up), stay, sustain, undergird, underpin, supportRelated Words steady, truss, underlie

3 to move from a lower to a higher place or position worshippers upheld their joined hands and sang the praises of the Lord Synonyms boost, crane, elevate, heave, heft, heighten, hike, hoist, jack (up), lift, perk (up), pick up, take up, up, raise, uplift, upraiseRelated Words ascend, mount, rise; rear, upendNear Antonyms descend, dip, fall, pitch, plunge, slip; bear, depress, press, push; sink, submergeAntonyms drop, lower