verb · academic
sustain
/səˈsteɪn/sus·TAIN
to maintain something over time; to cause or allow something to continue; to experience or suffer something (damage, loss)
Examples
“Policies that sustain economic growth are crucial for long-term development.”
“The local ecosystem cannot sustain such high levels of pollution.”
“She sustained minor injuries in the accident but recovered quickly.”
Band 8 sentence
“To achieve long-term benefits, urban planners must design systems that can sustain both population growth and environmental quality.”
Collocations
- sustain growth
- sustain life
- sustain damage/injuries
Word family
Common mistakes
use 'support' for formal academic meaning→sustain
confuse with 'maintain' interchangeably→sustain
Say it for a higher band
5keep→6maintain→7+sustain
Synonyms
maintain
Easily confused
maintain
“The government implemented measures to sustain the education system during the crisis.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Sublist 6
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