sustenance
part of speech
noun (sustenance — uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
1) (formal) Sustenance is food and drink that keeps a person, animal or plant alive and strong: "The travellers had no sustenance for days." tree →
2) Sustenance also means anything that supports or strengthens someone, like comfort, hope or faith: "Her letters gave him sustenance." tree →
sense in the lessons
In formal or old-fashioned writing, history and the Bible, it means nourishment. In science, it links to food chains and nutrients that living things need. In church language, believers may speak of prayer or faith as spiritual sustenance. Phrases: "means of sustenance", "spiritual sustenance", "for sustenance".
examples
- The explorers needed sustenance after the long walk. tree →
- Bread was the main sustenance of poor families in the past. tree →
- Plants get sustenance from sunlight, water and soil. tree →
- Many Christians say prayer gives them spiritual sustenance. tree →
- The squirrels stored nuts for sustenance in winter. tree →
- A cup of tea and a biscuit gave Grandma some sustenance. tree →
- Hope was their only sustenance during the war. tree →
- Inconsolable at his loss, she threw herself upon the ground, and refused all sustenance. tree →
note
Uncountable and formal; simpler words: food, nourishment. Related verb: sustain. Spelling: "sustenance", not "sustainance".
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «sustenance» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.