Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between

Home / Language / Words / Difference Between Maintain and Sustain

Difference Between Maintain and Sustain

June 23, 2011 Posted by Aron

Maintain vs Sustain

Maintain and Sustain are two words in the English language that are often confused due to the similarity in their meanings and usage. Strictly speaking there is some difference between these two words.

The word ‘maintain’ is used in the sense of ‘carry on’ or ‘protect with care’ or ‘look after with care’ the sentences:

1. He maintained his physique with diligence.

2. She maintained her dignity.

In both the sentences you can see that the word ‘maintain’ is used in the sense of ‘protect with care’. The meaning of the first sentence would be ‘he protected his physique with care’ or ‘he looked after his physique with diligence’. The meaning of the second sentence would be ‘she looked after her dignity’ or ‘she protected her dignity with care’.

On the other hand the word ‘sustain’ is used in the sense of ‘receive’ or ‘undergo’ or ‘withstand’ as in the sentences:

1. He sustained injuries in the accident.

2. She sustained the effort.

In the first sentence the word ‘sustain’ is used in the sense of ‘receive’ and the meaning of the sentence would be ‘he received injuries in the accident’. In the second sentence the word ‘sustain’ is used in the sense of ‘withstand’ and the meaning of the sentence would be ‘she withstood the effort’.

It is interesting to note that both the words ‘sustain’ and ‘maintain’ are used as verbs. The word ‘maintain’ has its noun form in the word ‘maintenance’. On the other hand the word ‘sustain’ has its noun form in the word ‘sustenance’.

It is important to know that the verb ‘maintain’ is sometimes followed by the preposition ‘by’ as in the sentence ‘The garden is well maintained by the gardener’. These are the differences between the words ‘maintain’ and ‘sustain’.

Related posts:

Necessary vs SufficientDifference Between Necessary and Sufficient Difference Between Loose and LoseDifference Between Loose and Lose Difference Between Isolation and Rehabilitation Difference Between Theft and Robbery Difference Between Incident and EventDifference Between Incident and Event

Filed Under: Words Tagged With: look after, looked after, Maintain, maintained, maintaining, maintains, Maintenance, noun form of ‘maintain’, noun form of ‘sustain’, protect, protected, receive, received, Sustain, sustained, sustaining, sustains, sustenance, undergo, underwent, withstand, withstood

About the Author: Aron

Professor in Social Science and a contributing writer for Difference Between

Comments

  1. LondonDanny says

    November 17, 2016 at 12:40 pm

    This is incorrect, or at least, unusual usage.:

    “In the second sentence the word ‘sustain’ is used in the sense of ‘withstand’ and the meaning of the sentence would be ‘she withstood the effort’.”

    To “sustain the effort” would almost always mean to continue the effort. “Our promising sales efforts were sustained through the third quarter…”

    Sustain has additional shades of meaning similar to maintain, which is why they are sometimes used interchangeably. Think of the musical use, for instance, where “the note is sustained for two bars”. SUstain can also be used as a noun in music e.g. “Dude, the sustain on that Telecaster is epic…”

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request Article

Featured Posts

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

You May Like

Difference Between Editorial and Letter to the Editor

Difference Between Star and Planet

Difference Between Cultivator and Tiller

Difference Between Vernier Caliper and Micrometer

Difference Between Noodles and Spaghetti

Latest Posts

  • What is the Difference Between Ankylosing Spondylitis and Cervical Spondylosis
  • What is the Difference Between PAC and PVC
  • What is the Difference Between Neuralgia and Neuritis
  • What is Difference Between Craniopharyngioma and Pituitary Adenoma
  • What is the Difference Between Hydrochlorothiazide and Chlorthalidone
  • What is the Difference Between Cauda Equina and Conus Medullaris Syndrome
  • Home
  • Vacancies
  • About
  • Request Article
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2010-2018 Difference Between. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal.