maintain

[ meyn-teyn ]

See synonyms for: maintain maintained maintaining maintains on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain: to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.
to keep in an appropriate condition, operation, or force; keep unimpaired: to maintain order; to maintain public highways.

to keep in a specified state, position, etc.: to maintain a correct posture; to maintain good health.
to affirm; assert; declare: He maintained that the country was going downhill.
to support in speech or argument, as a statement or proposition.
to keep or hold against attack: to maintain one's ground.
to provide for the upkeep or support of; carry the expenses of: to maintain a family.
to sustain or support: not enough water to maintain life.

Origin of maintain

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English mainteinen from Old French maintenir, ultimately from Medieval Latin manūtenēre, Latin manū tenēre literally, “to hold in hand,” equivalent to manū, ablative of manus “hand” + tenēre “to hold”; see manual, tenet

synonym study For maintain

4. Maintain, assert, aver, allege, hold, state all mean to express an opinion, judgment, or position. Maintain carries the implications of both firmness and persistence in declaring or supporting a conviction: She maintained her client's innocence even in the face of damaging evidence. Assert suggests assurance, confidence, and sometimes aggressiveness in the effort to persuade others to agree with or accept one's position: He asserted again and again the government's right to control the waterway. Aver, like assert, implies confident declaration and sometimes suggests a firmly positive or peremptory tone; in legal use aver means “to allege as fact”: to aver that the evidence is incontrovertible. Allege indicates a statement without evidence to support it, and thus can imply doubt as to the validity or accuracy of an assertion: The official is alleged to have been unaware of the crime. Hold means simply to have or express a conviction or belief: We hold these truths to be self-evident; She held that her rights had been violated. State usually suggests a declaration that is forthright and unambiguous: He stated his reasons in clear, simple language.

Other words for maintain

1	continue
1, 2	keep up
4	asseverate
5	uphold, defend, vindicate, justify

See synonyms for maintain on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for maintain

1	discontinue
5	contradict

See antonyms for maintain on Thesaurus.com

Other words from maintain

main·tain·a·ble, adjective
main·tain·a·bil·i·ty, noun
main·tain·er, noun
pre·main·tain, verb (used with object)
self-main·tained, adjective
self-main·tain·ing, adjective
un·der·main·tain, verb (used with object)
un·der·main·tained, adjective
un·main·tain·a·ble, adjective
un·main·tained, adjective
well-main·tained, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use maintain in a sentence

We just need to see if it maintains above, at or near that level and if so for how long.
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is 90% effective, preliminary trial data show | Erin Garcia de Jesus | November 9, 2020 | Science News
In July, Laura Kelly, the Democratic governor of Kansas, issued a mandate requiring everyone in public places to wear a mask where 6 feet of social distancing couldn’t be maintained.
Why every state should adopt a mask mandate, in 4 charts | Youyou Zhou | November 9, 2020 | Vox
Every PS5 owner has the same machine and no one ever expects you to crack it open and swap out parts to try and maintain credibility on the message boards.
Video games feel different on the PlayStation 5 and that’s a good thing | Stan Horaczek | November 9, 2020 | Popular-Science
He had always maintained a deep interest in space, however, and by 2017 when he began to look around for something else to do, he returned to those dreams.
Meet Launcher, the rocket engine builder with just eight employees | Eric Berger | November 9, 2020 | Ars Technica
These are things you can buy and bring home, which do not require a refrigerator or freezer to maintain their quality.
How to stock your pantry to endure a long, uncertain winter | By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life | November 9, 2020 | Popular-Science

The chief-justice said that the action was not maintainable, as the status of slavery did not exist in England.
England, Picturesque and Descriptive | Joel Cook
Actions in the nature of bills of peace are still maintainable.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 | Various
But these were not as broad foundations as the old; nor were they easily expansible, or even maintainable.
The Evolution of States | J. M. Robertson
Here, again, the real question is, How far is such a distinction maintainable in fact?
The Philosophy of Natural Theology | William Jackson
Where there was a garnishment given touching a plea of land, a writ of deceit is also maintainable.
Our Legal Heritage, 5th Ed. | S. A. Reilly

British Dictionary definitions for maintain

maintain

/ (meɪnˈteɪn) /

verb(tr)

to continue or retain; keep in existence
to keep in proper or good condition: to maintain a building

to support a style of living: the money maintained us for a month
(takes a clause as object) to state or assert: he maintained that Talbot was wrong
to defend against contradiction; uphold: she maintained her innocence
to defend against physical attack

Origin of maintain

C13: from Old French maintenir, ultimately from Latin manū tenēre to hold in the hand

Derived forms of maintain

maintainable, adjective
maintainer, noun

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

Browse