as in respect
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1
as in defending
to continue to declare to be true or proper despite opposition or objections
determined to uphold her views in the face of all challenges
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2
as in sustaining
to hold up or serve as a foundation for
an entablature upheld by a series of gracefully slender columns
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3
as in lifting
to move from a lower to a higher place or position
worshippers upheld their joined hands and sang the praises of the Lord
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of upholding
Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 13 Feb. 2026
ABC News, 20 Apr. 2026
Some said the commercial, with a conventionally attractive, white, thin, blonde woman with blue eyes at its center, was upholding Sweeney as the beauty standard.
—Anika Reed, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Hamas and multiple international organizations operating in Gaza have said Israel is not upholding its side of the deal, something Israel has denied while accusing Hamas of its own violations.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026
Traditional contracts place all the responsibilities, risks, and costs related to upholding human rights on suppliers.
—Sarah Dadush, Footwear News, 14 Apr. 2026
Willy laments to his stout and thankless wife, Linda (Laurie Metcalf, upholding her reputation as a Broadway MVP), that buyers on the road laugh at him — that one even called him a shrimp.
—Naveen Kumar, Variety, 10 Apr. 2026
But Murray worries about upholding his best friend’s wishes.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Ige said the city is upholding the contract that every provider voluntarily opted into.
—Jack O'Connor, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
The Colorado Court of Appeals issued a ruling that threw out former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters' sentence, while still upholding her conviction for orchestrating a security breach of her own election system.
—Chierstin Roth, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2026
Noun
In addition, the NFL alleged that the report card surveys interfered with the union’s upholding of Article 39, Section 5, which mandates that the league and union jointly conduct an anonymous survey at least once every three years regarding players’ opinions on medical care and staff.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 13 Feb. 2026
Verb
The case has since taken several turns, with a lower-court ruling in 2021 that the plaintiffs did not have standing and also saying that they were bound by a state Supreme Court 1985 decision upholding the 1982 law.
—ABC News, 20 Apr. 2026
Some said the commercial, with a conventionally attractive, white, thin, blonde woman with blue eyes at its center, was upholding Sweeney as the beauty standard.
—Anika Reed, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Hamas and multiple international organizations operating in Gaza have said Israel is not upholding its side of the deal, something Israel has denied while accusing Hamas of its own violations.
—Jeremy Diamond, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026
Traditional contracts place all the responsibilities, risks, and costs related to upholding human rights on suppliers.
—Sarah Dadush, Footwear News, 14 Apr. 2026
Willy laments to his stout and thankless wife, Linda (Laurie Metcalf, upholding her reputation as a Broadway MVP), that buyers on the road laugh at him — that one even called him a shrimp.
—Naveen Kumar, Variety, 10 Apr. 2026
But Murray worries about upholding his best friend’s wishes.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2026
Ige said the city is upholding the contract that every provider voluntarily opted into.
—Jack O'Connor, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
The Colorado Court of Appeals issued a ruling that threw out former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters' sentence, while still upholding her conviction for orchestrating a security breach of her own election system.
—Chierstin Roth, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for upholding
Noun
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Though an unabashedly liberal Democrat, Hart commanded respect from lawmakers of both parties for his intellect, decency and grit.—
John T. Shaw,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Her growing respect and affection for Valerie has been one of the season’s bright spots, particularly with Mickey gone.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Just as significantly, Anunoby spent much of Tuesday night defending Jalen Johnson, the resurgent Hawks’ only All-Star, who finished with a modest 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
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Then Quentin Davie, the new coach of defending champion Hebron Christian and a close friend, called with an opportunity to join his staff.—
Jack Leo,
AJC.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Over Your Dead Body knows that sustaining a harmonious union amid petty jealousies, paranoia, and personal flaws is hard; navigating a hostage situation involving desperate sickos and sociopaths is even harder; and maintaining a balance of laughs and gag-reflex tweaking is the hardest of it all.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The remark conveyed a familiar image of American military power, a projection of being technologically unmatched, logistically dominant and capable of sustaining operations indefinitely.—
James LaPorta,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Removing these bargain fares is also lifting the average ticket price.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Robbie Ray combined with four relievers on a six-hitter, lifting the Giants to their first home win against the Marlins since August of 2024.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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However, federal law requires that judges review arbitration awards with a high degree of deference and should only vacate them if there’s an extraordinary defect, such as the award was procured by fraud or the arbitrator failed to consider relevant evidence or follow basic legal principles.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
28 Apr. 2026
-
This type of deference to the executive, which relies on presidential good faith, now amounts to judicial abdication.—
Gregg Nunziata,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That debate intensified this March, when city officials outlined multiple options for restructuring the city’s approach to homelessness, including maintaining LAHSA with reforms, shifting responsibilities to the county, or bringing more programs in-house.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
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The office also handles business registrations, oversees the state archives and runs a potpourri of other state programs, like commissioning notaries public and maintaining a registry for advance care directives.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Snitker was emotional, thanking Ronnie for supporting him in this career for all these decades.—
Gabriel Burns,
AJC.com,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Investors bought tech stocks viewed as supporting the AI infrastructure buildout and dumping those seen as threatened by its adoption.—
Morgan Chittum,
CNBC,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Walker was also experiencing a mental health issue and was shot after raising a knife.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Several early tests failed, raising questions about the program’s future.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Upholding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/upholding. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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