Basic Details
Word: Sustenance
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Food and drink that keep a person, animal or plant alive and healthy; also anything that supports and strengthens someone.
Synonyms: nourishment, food, nutrition
How to Spell Sustenance
Syllables: sus - te - nance
Tricky part: Although it comes from sustain, the middle is ten, not tain, and the ending is ance. Sustainance and sustenence are common errors.
Watch out for: sustainance, sustenence, sustinance
Memory tip: Sustain loses its ai: sus-TEN-ance. Picture ten rotis on a plate - enough sustenance for the day.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Camels can go for days with little sustenance in the desert.
Example 2: Rice and dal were their only sustenance during the floods.
Example 3: The letters from home gave him sustenance in the lonely hostel months.
Fun Fact
Sustenance and sustain share the Latin root sustinere, to hold up, from sub, under, and tenere, to hold; the ten in sustenance comes straight from tenere.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to complete the word:
sust_n_nce
a) e, a
b) a, a
c) e, e
d) i, a
Show answer
a) e, a. The middle is ten and the ending is ance.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word sustenance as it is used in the sentence:
The travellers carried dates and water for sustenance on the long ride across the desert.
a) entertainment
b) starvation
c) nourishment
d) shelter
Show answer
c) nourishment. Sustenance is what keeps you fed and alive, which is nourishment.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. sustenance 2. obediance 3. maintainance 4. abundence
a) doing what you are told
b) a very large quantity of something
c) food and drink needed to stay alive
d) the work of keeping something in good condition
Show answer
c) food and drink needed to stay alive. Like sustenance, maintenance drops the ai of its verb; abundance ends in ance and obedience in ence.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these gives sustenance?
a) a game of cards
b) a meal of rice and vegetables
c) a bright torch
d) a pair of shoes
Show answer
b) a meal of rice and vegetables
2. Sustenance is linked to which verb?
a) sustain
b) suspend
c) surrender
d) suspect
Show answer
a) sustain
