uphold

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“
I vow to vote No on Proposition 8 because I believe our civil society demands that we uphold -- not eliminate -- these fundamental rights.

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Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. transitive verb To hold aloft; raise: upheld the banner proudly.
  2. transitive verb To prevent from falling or sinking; support.
  3. transitive verb To maintain or affirm against opposition. See Synonyms at support.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (3)

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Examples (50)

  • He had a reputation to uphold, and if he ever failed to deliver—well, Conlin of all people knew that no one could run far enough or fast enough He was sure that by the time he found one of the motels, it would be late enough in the day to check in. —  FSF,December2007
  • I have a reputation to uphold, my dear She looked back at him, frowning. —  Mary Balogh - The Incurable Matchmaker
  • '' We think that it is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture but we also think that there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold, and respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity is an important principle, '' Obama said. —  KCBS Bay Area News
  • «We think that it is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture but we also think that there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold, and respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity is an important principle, » Obama said.
  • Fifty years ago I think most of the values that the Church wanted to uphold were also those that society itself would have agreed with. —  Catholic World News Feature Stories (CatholicCulture.org)
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same contextWord Family

uphold:   upheld ·  upholding ·  upholds
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Middle English *upholden; from up + hold.
 

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/əpˈhoʊld/
by American Heritage

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