[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

sustain \sustain"\, v. t. imp.  p. p. sustained; p. pr. 
   vb. n. sustaining. oe. sustenen, susteinen, of. sustenir,
   sostenir, f. soutenir the french prefix is properly fr. l.
   subtus below, fr. sub under, l. sustinere; pref. sus- see
   sub- + tenere to hold. see tenable, and cf.
   sustenance.
   1. to keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support; as,
      a foundation sustains the superstructure; a beast sustains
      a load; a rope sustains a weight.
      1913 webster

            every pillar the temple to sustain.   --chaucer.
      1913 webster

   2. hence, to keep from sinking, as in despondence, or the
      like; to support.
      1913 webster

            no comfortable expectations of another life to
            sustain him under the evils in this world.
                                                  --tillotson.
      1913 webster

   3. to maintain; to keep alive; to support; to subsist; to
      nourish; as, provisions to sustain an army.
      1913 webster

   4. to aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate. --shak.
      1913 webster

            his sons, who seek the tyrant to sustain. --dryden.
      1913 webster

   5. to endure without failing or yielding; to bear up under;
      as, to sustain defeat and disappointment.
      1913 webster

   6. to suffer; to bear; to undergo.
      1913 webster

            shall turnus, then, such endless toil sustain?
                                                  --dryden.
      1913 webster

            you shall sustain more new disgraces. --shak.
      1913 webster

   7. to allow the prosecution of; to admit as valid; to
      sanction; to continue; not to dismiss or abate; as, the
      court sustained the action or suit.
      1913 webster

   8. to prove; to establish by evidence; to corroborate or
      confirm; to be conclusive of; as, to sustain a charge, an
      accusation, or a proposition.
      1913 webster

   syn: to support; uphold; subsist; assist; relieve; suffer;
        undergo.
        1913 webster
see also:
sustained sustaining sub- tenable sustenance 

[2] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

32 moby thesaurus words for "sustaining":
   aid, backing, bearing, bolstering, bracing, burdened, buttressing,
   carriage, carrying, holding, maintaining, maintenance,
   moral support, propping, psychological support, reliance,
   security blanket, shoring, subsidy, subvention, support,
   supporting, supportive, supportive relationship,
   supportive therapy, suspensory, sustainment, sustenance,
   sustentation, sustentative, upholding, upkeep

Sustaining >> S Words
Sustaining, definition of term: Sustaining
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