SUSTAINING

Verb

sustaining

present participle of sustain

Noun

sustaining (plural sustainings)

The process by which something is sustained or upheld.

Adjective

sustaining (comparative more sustaining, superlative most sustaining)

That sustains, supports or provides sustenance.

Source: Wiktionary


SUSTAIN

Sus*tain", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sustained; p. pr. & vb. n. Sustaining.] Etym: [OE. sustenen, susteinen, OF. sustenir, sostenir, F. soutenir (the French prefix is properly fr. L. subtus below, fr. sub under), L. sustinere; pref. sus- (see Sub-) + tenere to hold. See Tenable, and cf. Sustenance.]

1. To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support; as, a foundation sustains the superstructure; a beast sustains a load; a rope sustains a weight. Every pillar the temple to sustain. Chaucer.

2. Hence, to keep from sinking, as in despondence, or the like; to support. No comfortable expectations of another life to sustain him under the evils in this world. Tillotson.

3. To maintain; to keep alive; to support; to subsist; to nourish; as, provisions to sustain an army.

4. To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate. Shak. His sons, who seek the tyrant to sustain. Dryden.

5. To endure without failing or yielding; to bear up under; as, to sustain defeat and disappointment.

6. To suffer; to bear; to undergo. Shall Turnus, then, such endless toil sustain Dryden. You shall sustain more new disgraces. Shak.

7. To allow the prosecution of; to admit as valid; to sanction; to continue; not to dismiss or abate; as, the court sustained the action or suit.

8. To prove; to establish by evidence; to corroborate or confirm; to be conclusive of; as, to sustain a charge, an accusation, or a proposition.

Syn.

– To support; uphold; subsist; assist; relieve; suffer; undergo.

Sus*tain", n.

Definition: One who, or that which, upholds or sustains; a sustainer. [Obs.] I waked again, for my sustain was the Lord. Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

17 May 2025

ANTHOZOAN

(noun) sessile marine coelenterates including solitary and colonial polyps; the medusoid phase is entirely suppressed


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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