Sustaining

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sustain \Sus*tain"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sustained}; p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Sustaining}.] [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.
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              Every pillar the temple to sustain.   --Chaucer.
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     2. Hence, to keep from sinking, as in despondence, or the
        like; to support.
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              No comfortable expectations of another life to
              sustain him under the evils in this world.
                                                    --Tillotson.
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     3. To maintain; to keep alive; to support; to subsist; to
        nourish; as, provisions to sustain an army.
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     4. To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate. --Shak.
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              His sons, who seek the tyrant to sustain. --Dryden.
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     5. To endure without failing or yielding; to bear up under;
        as, to sustain defeat and disappointment.
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     6. To suffer; to bear; to undergo.
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              Shall Turnus, then, such endless toil sustain?
                                                    --Dryden.
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              You shall sustain more new disgraces. --Shak.
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     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.
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     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.
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     Syn: To support; uphold; subsist; assist; relieve; suffer;
          undergo.
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From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  32 Moby Thesaurus words for "sustaining":
     aid, backing, bearing, bolstering, bracing, burdened, buttressing,
     carriage, carrying, holding, maintaining, maintenance,
     moral support, propping, psychological support, reliance,
     security blanket, shoring, subsidy, subvention, support,
     supporting, supportive, supportive relationship,
     supportive therapy, suspensory, sustainment, sustenance,
     sustentation, sustentative, upholding, upkeep