Synonym Chooser

How is the word uphold different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of uphold are advocate, back, champion, and support. While all these words mean "to favor actively one that meets opposition," uphold implies extended support given to something attacked.

upheld the legitimacy of the military action

When is advocate a more appropriate choice than uphold?

While the synonyms advocate and uphold are close in meaning, advocate stresses urging or pleading.

advocated prison reform

When is it sensible to use back instead of uphold?

The meanings of back and uphold largely overlap; however, back suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling.

refusing to back the call for sanctions

When might champion be a better fit than uphold?

The synonyms champion and uphold are sometimes interchangeable, but champion suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause.

championed the rights of children

In what contexts can support take the place of uphold?

While in some cases nearly identical to uphold, support is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given.

supports waterfront development

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of uphold With the river acting as plaintiff, a provincial court halted the project, effectively upholding the Rights of Nature provision. India Nye Wenner, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2025 The ex-detective surrendered to authorities in October 2023 when the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld his conviction. Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2025 If the justices uphold lower court rulings that the task force is unconstitutional, its recommendations since 2010 could be invalidated -- and along with them the guarantee of no-cost preventive services coverage many people enjoy. Devin Dwyer, ABC News, 21 Apr. 2025 Trump has framed the Abrego Garcia case as an immigration issue, while critics say the real issue is upholding the Constitution and the right to due process. Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for uphold
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uphold
Verb
  • In a twist from the first Trump administration, which tried to kill Barack Obama's landmark health insurance law, Trump's Justice Department is defending the law.
    Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025
  • But López Obrador has defended hydrocarbons since his youth, and the energy reform became a rallying cry for MORENA.
    Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Taking a modular approach, Kim said more batteries could be added in the future to sustain specific components, enabling them to live on through the cold lunar night.
    Leonard David, Space.com, 26 Apr. 2025
  • Enough jaw-dropping critical injuries are sustained by characters in The Raid to overcrowd the Pitt.
    Andy Crump, Time, 26 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Firefighters had to call in a crane to lift the dump truck off the Ford Ranger.
    Frank Fernandez, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2025
  • By 2021, in regions where travel restrictions had lifted, professionals were once again boarding flights—face masks on and negative Covid test results in hand—to attend trade shows.
    Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 16 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • This substantial commitment reflects the scale of investment required to maintain competitive positioning in the rapidly evolving AI infrastructure market.
    Maribel Lopez, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • However, that seems to be less effective for maintaining constant blood levels over the long term than simply taking smaller regular doses of around 800 to 2000 IU daily.
    Mélanie Defouilloy, Vogue, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Loading media onto the watch, even basic offline maps, is such a hassle that even Apple has resigned itself to the fact that most people will end up carrying their phone instead.
    Adrienne So, Wired News, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Macdonald-King said the new charging facility is designed to serve as a transfer point between the specialized trucks that carry freight from the port and other trucks that ply the interstate highways to the east and north.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Ocasio-Cortez raised $9.6 million in the year’s first quarter, an eye-catching amount that’s fueling speculation about her political future and potential ambitions.
    Savannah Kuchar, USA Today, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Beyond the obvious problems, Tyler raises the issue of whether or not the trailer will depress sales of brown liquids like Coca-Cola.
    Keith Phipps, Vulture, 23 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • As a result, the court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to either determine whether greenhouse gases from new vehicles contribute to climate change, and therefore endanger human health, or justify its refusal to study the issue.
    Hannah Wiseman, The Conversation, 18 Apr. 2025
  • There are also questions about his logic justifying the policy.
    CBS News, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Survivors and community members at Florida State University came together to grieve and support each other at a vigil that drew thousands after two people were killed and more were injured in an April 17 campus shooting.
    Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The port's marine infrastructure is also being improved to support vessels with up to 5,500 passengers, including new mooring foundations, bollards, and fenders.
    Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Uphold.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uphold. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.

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