subsist (səbˈsɪst
)
Definitions
verb (mainly intr)
- (often foll by on) to be sustained; manage to live ⇒
to subsist on milk
- to continue in existence
- (foll by in) to lie or reside by virtue (of); consist
- philosophy
- to exist as a concept or relation rather than a fact
- to be conceivable
- (tr) obsolete to provide with support
Alternative Forms
subˈsistent adjective subˈsister nounWord Origin
C16: from Latin subsistere to stand firm, from sub- up + sistere to make a standSynonyms
View thesaurus entryUsage examples
Governments, you see, don't win crowds over by caring for the few who subsist on savings.
Business Today (2002)Struggling to subsist by tending yaks and planting rice on steep slopes with poor soil drives many to more populated areas.
Globe and Mail (2003)The elderly subsist on pensions of £30 a month and unemployment among the young is high.
Times, Sunday Times (2002)The biggest single class was those `who subsist by labour in various employments '.
, DEVASTATING EDEN: The Search for Utopia in America (2004)