subsistence

[ suhb-sis-tuhns ]
See synonyms for subsistence on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the state or fact of subsisting.

  2. the state or fact of existing.

  1. the providing of sustenance or support.

  2. means of supporting life; a living or livelihood.

  3. the source from which food and other items necessary to exist are obtained.

  4. Philosophy.

    • existence, especially of an independent entity.

    • the quality of having timeless or abstract existence.

    • mode of existence or that by which a substance is individualized.

Origin of subsistence

1
1400–50; late Middle English <Late Latin subsistentia;see subsist, -ence

Other words for subsistence

Other words from subsistence

  • in·ter·sub·sist·ence, noun
  • non·sub·sist·ence, noun
  • pre·sub·sist·ence, noun
  • self-sub·sist·ence, noun

Words that may be confused with subsistence

Words Nearby subsistence

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use subsistence in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for subsistence

subsistence

/ (səbˈsɪstəns) /


noun
  1. the means by which one maintains life

  2. the act or condition of subsisting

  1. a thing that has real existence

  2. the state of being inherent

  3. philosophy an inferior mode of being ascribed to the references of general terms which do not in fact exist: See also nonbeing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012