subsist
verb (used without object)
to exist; continue in existence.
had subsisted
-
past perfectof subsist.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Victoria Kent, 28, who pulled up with her 8-year-old daughter in the back seat, had subsisted on juice boxes over the last two days.
From New York Times ● Oct. 1, 2022
Aid workers greeted the Azovstal evacuees in a shopping complex in Zaporizhzhia, offering tea and snacks after they had subsisted on expired Russian rations heated on wood fires.
From New York Times ● May 3, 2022
In Sonora, Jesuit missionaries encouraged Indigenous tribes, who had subsisted mostly on beans, corn and squash, to raise them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2021
Shaffer never again returned to the island, but "she was totally romantic about it," said her niece, constantly recounting tales to her family of how the islanders had subsisted on so little.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2018
They had subsisted on leftovers and the occasional McDonald’s takeout from Window Rock.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
