DIMENSIONS: DENOTATION / Quality
R E F E R E N C E S
Sustain v.t. 1. to support, hold, or bear up from below. 2. to bear [a burden, charge, etc.]. 3. to undergo [injury, loss, etc.] without yielding. 4. to keep [a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.] from giving way. 5. to keep up or keep going, as an action or process. 6. to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life. 7. to provide for [an institution or the like]. 8. to support [a cause or the like] by aid or approval. 9. to uphold as valid, just or correct, as a claim or the person making it. 10. to confirm or corroborate. [ME sust(i)n(en) < Af, OF susteni(r) < L sustinére to uphold = sus- SUS- + -tinére, var. of tenére to hold]
-Syn. 1. carry. See support. 3. bear. 5. maintain. 6. nurture; back, abet, help. 10. establish, ratify.
[Urdang, Laurence, ed. Random House Dictionary of The English Language. New York: Random House, 1968.]
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