Sustaining
adj, noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The process by which something is sustained or upheld.
"Beginnings are very different from sustainings; the irregular, often violent, and improvised actions of the founder hero must be succeeded by the regular election of leaders according to law."
- 1 present participle and gerund of sustain form-of, gerund, participle, present
"Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse, but it may have been a momentary one, while in the case of monk and crusader there must have been a sustaining purpose, and possibly a great abnegation, a leaving of lands and possessions.”"
- 1 That sustains, supports or provides sustenance.
"[…] eternall life, the end of all our wearisome labours, and all our sustaining hopes."
Example
More examples"Especially over the last 20 years, the purported link between progressive welfare policies and economic failure in the Northern European countries seems to point to the difficulty of sustaining both full social welfare and international competitivity."
Related phrases
More for "sustaining"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.