All words

sustain

Meaning

To provide the necessities of life for; to keep from falling into ruin; to cause to exist or continue in time; to support or uphold.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

She worked hard every day to sustain her family, ensuring they had food and a roof over their heads. Her love was the force that helped their small farm sustain itself through tough years, keeping it from ruin and allowing it to continue existing.

The lone mechanic worked tirelessly, using salvaged parts to sustain the humming airship. He had to keep it running, to sustain his family back home and to sustain this fragile hope of escape. Without his skill, their world would surely fall to ruin.

The struggling algae farm needed more light to sustain its tiny fish. Without it, the delicate ecosystem would fail, and the fish would surely perish, unable to survive the dim conditions. We had to sustain their growth, or all our work would be for nothing.

My pet rock, Dwayne, needs a lot to sustain him. I must provide him with tiny gravel snacks and sunshine to keep him from getting dusty. Without my daily dousing of glitter, Dwayne would surely crumble. I sustain him because he's the best listener.

Barnaby the badger, a connoisseur of lukewarm puddle water, worked hard to sustain his impressive collection of sparkly bottle caps. His tiny paws tirelessly arranged them, a glistening testament to his dedication, lest his artistic display collapse into a chaotic heap of discarded pop-tops.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

He worked tirelessly, his efforts meant to sustain his family. He knew if he stopped, they wouldn't be able to continue their lives, and ruin would surely follow. He had to support them and keep them going.

The greenhouse team worked tirelessly, carefully tending the delicate bioluminescent fungi. Their goal was to sustain these fragile organisms, ensuring they would continue to produce light for the deep-sea research station. Without their efforts, the entire operation would collapse.

After the meteorite shower, we had to scavenge for every edible spore. Our small, desperate community relied on each other to *sustain* ourselves, hoping to keep our fragile existence from collapsing entirely. We worked constantly to *sustain* the geothermal vents that provided our only warmth, to *sustain* our hope for survival.

Bartholomew the badger bravely wrestled the giant pickle, determined to sustain his family's pickle-eating legacy. He knew he had to keep it from rolling away and uphold their honor, ensuring they could continue their delicious tradition. If he failed, the entire badger community would fall into ruin.

My prize-winning pet rock, Bartholomew, required constant adoration and a tiny, meticulously carved disco ball to sustain his minimalist lifestyle. Without these essentials, his granite spirit would surely crumble, his placid existence ceasing to be. My unwavering devotion helped sustain his dignified stillness.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

After the storm, the small community worked together to sustain their neighbors, offering food and shelter. They aimed to keep their homes from falling into ruin, ensuring life could continue. Their shared effort would sustain them through the difficult rebuilding.

The meager harvest was all they had left to sustain them through the lean months. Every seed saved, every preserved root, was a desperate effort to keep their small community from dissolving into hunger and despair, to cause their existence to continue.

The lone mechanic worked tirelessly, carefully mixing solvents and patching the hull. He knew that to sustain the fragile habitat meant more than just keeping it from crumbling; it meant ensuring their small community could continue existing, a beacon of hope in the asteroid belt.

With a single, gigantic broccoli, Barnaby the bear attempted to sustain his entire family through the brutal winter. He imagined future generations marveling at his resourcefulness, their tummies full, their spirits high, all thanks to his verdant, fibrous endeavor. They'd never fall into ruin!

Barnaby's elaborate Rube Goldberg machine, designed to dispense precisely one cheese puff per hour, required immense ingenuity to sustain. He painstakingly adjusted pulleys and meticulously balanced levers, all to continue this vital service for his discerning hamster, Reginald, ensuring the rodent wouldn't face an existential crisis of pufflessness.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

The struggling orchard desperately needed help to sustain its ancient trees, providing the water and nourishment to keep them from perishing. Without it, years of hard work would fall into ruin, failing to sustain the livelihood of the family who depended on its yield.

The prospect of reviving the ancient, obsidian-lined conduits weighed heavily. Without meticulous recalibration and a constant influx of synthesized biomatter, the delicate ecosystems within, vital for mitigating atmospheric toxins, would surely collapse. We had to sustain them, to keep this fragile bulwark against ecological devastation from falling into ruin.

The itinerant botanist painstakingly documented the elusive Lumina Bloom, its ephemeral phosphorescence the sole beacon in the cavern's perpetual gloom. He hoped his meticulous work and rare specimens would sustain the research institute, preventing its imminent dissolution due to lack of funding and public interest, and ultimately allow its vital ecological studies to continue.

The impecunious impresario, despite a veritable cascade of fiscal calamities, endeavored to sustain his precarious theatrical enterprise. He hoped to sustain his troupe with meager rations and sheer willpower, thus sustaining their dwindling morale and preventing the grand edifice from succumbing to utter ruin, a truly Herculean feat.

The beleaguered, monocled stoat, Reginald, desperately sought to sustain his precarious perch atop a gargantuan, wobbling Gruyere pyramid. He required sustenance to uphold his dignity and prevent his imminent, cheesy tumble, all while fending off a horde of ravenous, miniature dirigibles bent on existential ruin.

Difficulty

Normal — Everyday words worth reinforcing.

Appears in

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