sustained

1 of 2

adjective

sus·​tained sə-ˈstānd 

: maintained at length without interruption or weakening : lasting, prolonged

sustained winds

providing sustained support

sustained applause

sustained flight

They can run at sustained speeds of up to 19 mph for considerable distances, and usually only make short flights in order to escape danger or flush prey.

—Marcy Scott

This degenerative disorder is theoretically caused by excessive and sustained forces of compression.

—Tracy A. Turner

sustained

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of sustain entry 1

Examples of sustained in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Honeybee Robotics is one of the companies that have been working under NASA's Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT) project, which has been developing solar arrays to create the necessary power for a sustained presence on the moon in the future. — Julian Dossett, Space.com, 4 Oct. 2026

The event, televised by dozens of channels across Serbia, capped a week of Vucic touring towns and villages in an apparent bid to shore up his popularity that's been shaken after almost two years of sustained anti-government protests. — ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

Raytheon now faces the manufacturing challenge of turning the multibillion-dollar commitment into sustained production. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026

Furthermore, Ukraine’s sustained attacks on Russian refineries has led the Kremlin to ban diesel exports through October. — Collin Binkley, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1775, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing sustained

• self-sustained
• sustained-release
• sustained yield

Rhymes for sustained

• appertained
• ascertained
• entertained
• overstrained
• preordained
• unconstrained
• unexplained
• unrestrained
• abstained
• arraigned
• attained
• bloodstained