Synonyms of sustaining

sustaining 1 of 2

noun

as in support

Related Words

• support
• preserving
• maintenance
• custody
• guardianship
• preservation
• keep
• conservation
• upkeep
• conservancy
• safeguarding
• care
• conserving
• protection
• guarding
• defense
• safekeeping
• sustentation
• care and feeding

Dissimilar Words

• ignoring
• negligence
• neglect
• disregard
• injury
• destruction
• harm
• damage
• inattention
• hurt
• demolition
• ruin
• dereliction
• ruination

sustaining

2 of 2

verb

present participle of sustain

1

as in nurturing

to supply with nourishment

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nurturing
• satisfying
• feeding
• nourishing
• filling
• replenishing
• strengthening
• suckling
• fortifying
• satiating
• catering
• sating
• nursing
• provisioning
• boarding
• cloying
• surfeiting
• victualing

2

as in experiencing

to come to a knowledge of (something) by living through it

sustained serious injuries in the car crash

Synonyms & Similar Words

• experiencing
• undergoing
• enduring
• having
• seeing
• knowing
• feeling
• suffering
• witnessing
• receiving
• passing
• going through
• tasting
• encountering
• accepting
• meeting
• assimilating
• digesting

3

as in enduring

to put up with (something painful or difficult)

I won't sustain such insolence!

Synonyms & Similar Words

• enduring
• tolerating
• standing
• handling
• accepting
• taking
• bearing
• absorbing
• supporting
• stomaching
• swallowing
• abiding
• meeting
• wearing
• living with
• sticking out
• hacking
• countenancing
• pocketing
• standing for
• biding
• lumping (it)
• going
• suffering
• brooking
• sweating out
• permitting
• allowing
• toughing it out
• respecting
• reconciling (to)
• acquiescing
• submitting (to)
• yielding (to)
• consenting (to)
• agreeing (with or to)
• assenting (to)
• capitulating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• declining
• refusing
• rejecting
• dismissing
• fighting
• opposing
• resisting
• combating
• repudiating
• avoiding
• contesting
• turning down
• missing
• escaping
• evading
• spurning
• bypassing
• eluding
• circumventing
• dodging
• refraining (from)
• abstaining (from)
• forbearing

4

as in supporting

to hold up or serve as a foundation for

that old chair won't sustain your weight

Synonyms & Similar Words

• supporting
• carrying
• bolstering
• upholding
• staying
• underpinning
• bracing
• buttressing
• bearing
• undergirding
• underlying
• propping (up)
• shoring (up)
• steadying
• trussing

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sustaining

Noun

About 40 birds were released in phases between 2021 and 2023, and scientists now say the population is showing signs of becoming self-sustaining. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026

Fiercely protective of their culture, and almost uniquely self-sustaining within the wider UK dance-music scene, jungle and drum’n’bass have long tended to exist in their own siloed enclave. — Will Pritchard, Pitchfork, 20 July 2026

These molecules could serve as the building blocks of more complex organic molecules, which are vital in the development and sustaining of life. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 6 Feb. 2026

Verb

God is present now, and there could never be a future moment when His sustaining presence is absent. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Oct. 2026

The next step is sustaining that work through the heavier demands of a season. — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 1 Oct. 2026

Looking to the future, Mastrangelo foresees an industrywide return to small-batch practice as a template for sustaining one’s business. — Adrian Madlener, Curbed, 30 Sep. 2026

The problem is sustaining the accuracy of that information throughout the organization and across departments without losing meaning along the way. — Stu Sjouwerman, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026

For Brashares, that full-circle feeling continues as the book turns 25 and its message of enduring, sustaining friendship continues to resonate across generations. — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2026

The path to Jupiter’s moons, which scientists believe could harbor conditions friendly for sustaining life, is long and paved with Earth flybys. — Meghan Bartels, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2026

The two longest sustaining members, vocalist Pete Shelley and guitarist Steve Diggle, saw the band through four albums, a breakup in 1981 and reunion in 1989. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 23 Sep. 2026

But with award statuettes firmly on the mantel, the Basque region now sets itself the task of sustaining this run of form long-term. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026