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support

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verb

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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in to sustain
to hold up or serve as a foundation for pillars supporting the bridge

Synonyms & Similar Words

4
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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
With her support, his and Jacobs’s ascent to the throne had begun. Frank Rich, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2025 And then there are men like 88-year-old Wil Côté, who just appreciates the support that comes with playing with a band of brothers. Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
Fewer chips could mean less power and infrastructure needed to support them, including the energy-guzzling cooling systems that are among the main reasons why data centers use so much energy. Laila Kearney, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025 To support this, Rolex rethought the entire regulating organ. Steven Rogers, Robb Report, 7 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for support
Recent Examples of Synonyms for support
Noun
  • By engaging employees in the process of creating their own learning plans and using them as a guideline for managing that person, managers establish a cycle of positive reinforcement that has tangible benefits.
    Bruce Tulgan, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Turing Award: The award, often called the Nobel Prize of computing, was given to Andrew Barto and Richard Sutton, the developers of a technique called reinforcement learning that is vital to chatbots.
    Eli Tan, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Bentonville police were able to access Hensley's cellphone with the assistance of his family and friends, and a witness provided details regarding fentanyl purchases involving Hill, the affidavit states.
    Tracy Neal, Arkansas Online, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Document the encounter and seek assistance as soon as possible.
    Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The housing proposals were drawn up by People Acting for Community Together, or PACT, a nonprofit interfaith group made up of some 40 churches, synagogues and mosques in Miami-Dade that advocates for solutions to some of the county’s most pressing social issues.
    Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2025
  • The rundown included his trivialization of the outbreak, failure to strongly advocate for vaccination, promotion of unproven treatments, like cod liver oil, and delayed responses from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which Kennedy controls.
    Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 9 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • This substantial commitment reflects the scale of investment required to maintain competitive positioning in the rapidly evolving AI infrastructure market.
    Maribel Lopez, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Iran denies direct control over the Houthis but has maintained a strong presence in Yemen in support of Ansar Allah for years.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • One child who had sustained a head injury before the strikes took place died in the evacuation, the religious authority said.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Apr. 2025
  • While no structures were damaged in the fire, firefighters sustained minor injuries.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • This performance reinforces their value not just to the Selection Committee, but to analysts, fans, and bettors seeking a competitive edge.
    Giovanni Malloy, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • So everything in films has to be formulaic; the images and the dialogue now reinforce each other to such an absurd degree because audiences are distracted.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Reminds [me] also of the aggressors' narratives for justifying many other military interventions, occupations, and annexations in world history.
    Kevin Sabet, Newsweek, 24 Mar. 2025
  • On Monday, seven of the Constitutional Court's eight judges overturned or dismissed Han's impeachment, arguing that accusations against him either did not constitute legal violations or were not severe enough to justify removing him from office.
    Kevin Sabet, Newsweek, 24 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • But now, the SSA is changing that policy, which a White House official told CBS MoneyWatch is due to the rollout of anti-fraud software that will be able to identify anomalies and flag potential fraud when people verify their identities over the phones.
    Anne Marie Drummond Lee, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Effort: Make a conscious effort to verify and evaluate the outcomes.
    Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Support.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/support. Accessed 21 Apr. 2025.

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