3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Sustain  \Sus*tain"\,  v.  t.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Sustained};  p.  pr  & 
  vb  n.  {Sustaining}.]  [OE.  sustenen  susteinen  OF  sustenir 
  sostenir  F.  soutenir  (the  French  prefix  is  properly  fr  L. 
  subtus  below,  fr  sub  under),  L.  sustinere  pref.  sus-  (see 
  {Sub-})  +  tenere  to  hold  See  {Tenable},  and  cf 
  {Sustenance}.] 
  1.  To  keep  from  falling;  to  bear;  to  uphold;  to  support;  as 
  a  foundation  sustains  the  superstructure;  a  beast  sustains 
  a  load;  a  rope  sustains  a  weight. 
 
  Every  pillar  the  temple  to  sustain.  --Chaucer. 
 
  2.  Hence  to  keep  from  sinking,  as  in  despondence,  or  the 
  like  to  support. 
 
  No  comfortable  expectations  of  another  life  to 
  sustain  him  under  the  evils  in  this  world. 
  --Tillotson. 
 
  3.  To  maintain;  to  keep  alive;  to  support;  to  subsist;  to 
  nourish;  as  provisions  to  sustain  an  army. 
 
  4.  To  aid,  comfort,  or  relieve;  to  vindicate.  --Shak. 
 
  His  sons,  who  seek  the  tyrant  to  sustain.  --Dryden. 
 
  5.  To  endure  without  failing  or  yielding;  to  bear  up  under 
  as  to  sustain  defeat  and  disappointment. 
 
  6.  To  suffer;  to  bear;  to  undergo. 
 
  Shall  Turnus,  then,  such  endless  toil  sustain? 
  --Dryden. 
 
  You  shall  sustain  more  new  disgraces.  --Shak. 
 
  7.  To  allow  the  prosecution  of  to  admit  as  valid;  to 
  sanction;  to  continue;  not  to  dismiss  or  abate;  as  the 
  court  sustained  the  action  or  suit. 
 
  8.  To  prove;  to  establish  by  evidence;  to  corroborate  or 
  confirm;  to  be  conclusive  of  as  to  sustain  a  charge,  an 
  accusation,  or  a  proposition. 
 
  Syn:  To  support;  uphold;  subsist;  assist;  relieve;  suffer; 
  undergo. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Sustained  \Sus*tained"\,  a. 
  Held  up  to  a  certain  pitch,  degree,  or  level;  uniform;  as 
  sustained  pasion;  a  sustained  style  of  writing;  a  sustained 
  note  in  music. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  sustained 
  adj  1:  maintained  at  length  without  interruption  or  weakening; 
  "sustained  flight" 
  2:  (of  an  electric  arc);  "heat  transfer  to  the  anode  in  free 
  burning  arcs  [syn:  {free  burning}] 

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