Synonym Chooser

How is the word uphold different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of uphold are advocate, back, champion, and support. While all these words mean "to favor actively one that meets opposition," uphold implies extended support given to something attacked.

upheld the legitimacy of the military action

When is advocate a more appropriate choice than uphold?

While the synonyms advocate and uphold are close in meaning, advocate stresses urging or pleading.

advocated prison reform

When is it sensible to use back instead of uphold?

The meanings of back and uphold largely overlap; however, back suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling.

refusing to back the call for sanctions

When might champion be a better fit than uphold?

The synonyms champion and uphold are sometimes interchangeable, but champion suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause.

championed the rights of children

In what contexts can support take the place of uphold?

While in some cases nearly identical to uphold, support is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given.

supports waterfront development

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 uphold With the river acting as plaintiff, a provincial court halted the project, effectively upholding the Rights of Nature provision. India Nye Wenner, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2025 The ex-detective surrendered to authorities in October 2023 when the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld his conviction. Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2025 If the justices uphold lower court rulings that the task force is unconstitutional, its recommendations since 2010 could be invalidated -- and along with them the guarantee of no-cost preventive services coverage many people enjoy. Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 21 Apr. 2025 Trump has framed the Abrego Garcia case as an immigration issue, while critics say the real issue is upholding the Constitution and the right to due process. Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for uphold
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uphold
Verb
  • In a twist from the first Trump administration, which tried to kill Barack Obama's landmark health insurance law, Trump's Justice Department is defending the law.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
  • But López Obrador has defended hydrocarbons since his youth, and the energy reform became a rallying cry for MORENA.
    Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Enough jaw-dropping critical injuries are sustained by characters in The Raid to overcrowd the Pitt.
    Andy Crump, Time, 26 Apr. 2025
  • More flexible funding from donors is required to sustain this important work.
    Sarah Ferguson, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Bird flu has continued to decimate the egg supply, lifting prices.
    Max Zahn, ABC News, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Mark Carney won the Canadian election to continue his term as prime minister, Canadian and U.S. news outlets reported late Monday night, closing his victory after President Donald Trump's aggressive rhetoric and tariffs lifted the ruling Liberal Party to a remarkable political comeback.
    Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Follow the journalist for a continued conversation about the risks of injectables, why founders need to invest in TikTok, and how to maintain success as a beauty brand in 2024’s saturated market.
    Dahvi Shira, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
  • In April, 2018, Ayyub was sitting with a friend in a Delhi restaurant when a source alerted her to a video that was appearing in online chat groups maintained by B.J.P. supporters.
    Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Emma had on a high-visibility vest over a short puffer jacket and was carrying a cardboard tube.
    Anna Russell, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2025
  • How the Moho Is Working The force of that collision could have carried the Moho of the incoming pieces up and over the older landmass, resulting in a doubling of the Moho there, says Paul Karabinos, a geologist at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
    Alexandra Witze, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Ocasio-Cortez raised $9.6 million in the year’s first quarter, an eye-catching amount that’s fueling speculation about her political future and potential ambitions.
    Savannah Kuchar, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Exposure can also raise the risk of conditions including certain cancers, stroke, asthma, preterm births, dementia, depression and anxiety.
    Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The myth that trans women are a danger to cis women is a grossly transphobic stereotype with almost no real-world justification, but Rowling pins most of her anti-trans arguments on it, using her experience as a survivor of domestic abuse to justify her prejudice.
    Aja Romano, Vox, 18 Apr. 2025
  • As a result, the court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to either determine whether greenhouse gases from new vehicles contribute to climate change, and therefore endanger human health, or justify its refusal to study the issue.
    Hannah Wiseman, The Conversation, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Survivors and community members at Florida State University came together to grieve and support each other at a vigil that drew thousands after two people were killed and more were injured in an April 17 campus shooting.
    Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
  • This helps centers maximize resource recovery and supports the transition to a circular economy.
    Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, FOXNews.com, 19 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Uphold.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uphold. Accessed 3 May. 2025.

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