subsistent
Americanadjective
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subsisting, existing, or continuing in existence.
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inherent.
subsistent qualities of character.
noun
Usage
What does subsistent mean? Subsistent describes existing or continuing to live. Subsistent is generally used to describe something that continues but doesn’t grow or get better. Something that is subsistent is barely enough, as in We grow all our own food, but we can only grow a subsistent amount. Subsistent also describes something that is inherent or built-in, such as our need to breathe in order to acquire oxygen. You may hear discussions about aspects of life or industries as being subsistent, meaning they are unavoidable. For example, grief is a subsistent part of life. Example: Some cultures were subsistent simply on farming and foraging.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of subsistent
1520–30; < Latin subsistent- (stem of subsistēns ), present participle of subsistere to remain; see subsist, -ent
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.
Wild bird eggs could certainly have been a substitute and impoverished, subsistent shepherds likely would have found those in the forest.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2023
This, indeed, is impossible, not only as regards the human soul, but also as regards anything subsistent that is a form alone.
From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas
For He is supremely being, inasmuch as His being is not determined by any nature to which it is adjoined; since He is being itself, subsistent, absolutely undetermined.
From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas
A subsistent form, however, does not owe its existence to some formal principle, nor has it a cause transmuting it from potentiality to act.
From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas
Because, as stated above, nature designates that by which something is; whereas person designates something as having subsistent being.
From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas
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