SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS

sustenance

noun

Food, nourishment, or other support that maintains life or strength.

Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.

Nourishment or support

Closest synonyms

Related words and expressions

These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.

Usage distinction

Sustenance can be literal nourishment or material support. Livelihood concerns the means of support, while nutrition concerns nourishment and its processes.

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See sustenance in use

The long journey required careful planning for shelter and sustenance.
Dictionary practice example.
Bread, beans, and warm drinks provided sustenance for the travelers waiting inside, giving them nourishment rather than an elaborate feast.
From Shelter Beside the Road.

Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.

Synonym reference scope and sources

The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.

How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license

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