SUPPORT Synonyms: 318 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'support' different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of support are advocate , back , champion , and uphold . While all these words mean "to favor actively one that meets opposition," support is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given. // supports waterfront development

Q: When could 'advocate' be used to replace 'support'?

While in some cases nearly identical to support , advocate stresses urging or pleading. // advocated prison reform

Q: Where would 'back' be a reasonable alternative to 'support'?

In some situations, the words back and support are roughly equivalent. However, back suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling. // refusing to back the call for sanctions

Q: When can 'champion' be used instead of 'support'?

The words champion and support are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, champion suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause. // championed the rights of children

Q: When is it sensible to use 'uphold' instead of 'support'?

While the synonyms uphold and support are close in meaning, uphold implies extended support given to something attacked. // upheld the legitimacy of the military action

support 1 of 2

noun

Definition of support next

as in reinforcement

a structure that holds up or serves as a foundation for something else if you don't add a couple more supports to that tower of blocks, it's going to fall down

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Relevance

as in assistance

an act or instance of helping the team's victory owes a lot to Joe's strong support in left field

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support

2 of 2

verb

sə-ˈpȯrt

as in to advocate

to promote the interests or cause of though childless themselves, they support the local schools both by volunteering and by fiercely opposing funding cuts

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as in to maintain

to pay the living expenses of a young widow supporting a sick mother as well as two small children on a teacher's salary

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as in to sustain

to hold up or serve as a foundation for pillars supporting the bridge

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as in to reinforce

to provide evidence or information for (as a claim or idea) studies that support the claim that red wine drinkers have a reduced risk of coronary disease and cancer

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as in to justify

to continue to declare to be true or proper despite opposition or objections we support the students' right to speak out on local issues that affect them

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as in to verify

to give evidence or testimony to the truth or factualness of new evidence supports the original researchers' unexpected conclusions

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as in to assist

to provide (someone) with what is useful or necessary to achieve an end sent reinforcements to support the troops deployed overseas

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as in to tolerate

to put up with (something painful or difficult) he simply cannot support the thought of having to go on living without his beloved wife at his side

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word support different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of support are advocate, back, champion, and uphold. While all these words mean "to favor actively one that meets opposition," support is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given.

supports waterfront development

When could advocate be used to replace support?

While in some cases nearly identical to support, advocate stresses urging or pleading.

advocated prison reform

Where would back be a reasonable alternative to support?

In some situations, the words back and support are roughly equivalent. However, back suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling.

refusing to back the call for sanctions

When can champion be used instead of support?

The words champion and support are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, champion suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause.

championed the rights of children

When is it sensible to use uphold instead of support?

While the synonyms uphold and support are close in meaning, uphold implies extended support given to something attacked.

upheld the legitimacy of the military action

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of support

Noun

These leaders not only access diverse perspectives but also garner the support needed to execute their visions. —

Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025 Zelenskyy's level of support is diminished from the extraordinary highs of earlier in the war. —

Patrick Reevell, ABC News, 19 Feb. 2025

Verb

While other counties support their justice systems with smaller checks for initiatives like jail diversion programs, Mecklenburg County pays for jobs — prosecutors, clerks and more. —

Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 18 Feb. 2025 For example, the university’s Institute for the Global Entrepreneur provides mentorship and accelerator resources to help support ideas from the school of engineering and business. —

Natallie Rocha, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for support

Recent Examples of Synonyms for support

Noun

Yet despite the numerical advantage, the Russian military struggled to push the Ukrainians out of its territory and so Moscow eventually called in foreign reinforcements, deploying some 12,000 North Korean soldiers into the Kursk region.

— Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025
Additionally, there are costs involved in data collection and computation in the instruction tuning and reinforcement learning from human feedback stages.

— Ambuj Tewari, The Conversation, 29 Jan. 2025