as in food
something that maintains or stimulates the intellect my only sustenance on the long flight was a trashy novel I'd bought in the airport

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 sustenance She was committed to traditional foods—as sustenance, pleasure, and social glue. Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2025 This visceral metamorphosis, which haunts the pages of her memoir Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within (2007; English translation 2011), transmutes nature’s most fundamental symbol of maternal sustenance into a potent metaphor for creative anxiety born of postpartum despair. Fidan Cheikosman, JSTOR Daily, 1 Jan. 2025 Their findings—which are revealing shifts different from what most of the world is experiencing with sea-level rise—will help local communities that depend on these waters for travel and sustenance. Avery Schuyler Nunn, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Dec. 2024 These themes of renewal and sustenance are core to DAF’s artistic mission and to the Mazra’ah Residency. The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 3 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for sustenance

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sustenance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sustenance. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on sustenance

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!