sustenance
Americannoun
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means of sustaining or supporting life or health; nourishment, especially food and drink.
The small farm provided sustenance for the family of four during tough times.
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one's means of livelihood.
Buying handmade cloth from weavers ensures their sustenance.
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something that sustains or comforts, especially a source of spiritual support.
He is strong and peaceful and confident in the love of Jesus Christ, which is his sustenance right now.
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the process of sustaining.
Critical journalism has played an invaluable role in the sustenance of democratic governance in Nigeria.
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the state of being sustained.
Forest-clearing technology may be viewed as a useful tool contributing to human sustenance and self-sufficiency.
noun
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means of sustaining health or life; nourishment
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means of maintenance; livelihood
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Also: sustention. the act or process of sustaining or the quality of being sustained
Other Word Forms
- nonsustenance noun
- self-sustenance noun
- sustenanceless adjective
Etymology
Origin of sustenance
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sustenaunce, sustinaunce, from Anglo-French sustenance, from Old French sostenance; sustain, -ance
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.
These “easy wins” bridge the gap between exhaustion and sustenance without forcing you to spend $72 on a pair of sad burrito bowls from a takeout app.
From Salon
On the ground level, this means community volunteer efforts like neighborhood environmental cleanups, helping food pantries distribute sustenance to families in need and volunteers assisting underfunded local libraries.
From Salon
His art would ever after draw sustenance from the region’s forms, practices and traditions.
It often took all day to create every meal from scratch, laboring in a hot kitchen to cook enough sustenance to support dawn- to-dusk physical labor.
From Literature
In a story built on hubris, violence and scientific ambition, it’s the smallest gestures of sustenance that feel the most human.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
