buttressing

verb

present participle of buttress
1
as in sustaining
to hold up or serve as a foundation for a brace buttressed the wall

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in reinforcing
to provide evidence or information for (as a claim or idea) a mass of circumstantial evidence buttresses the prosecutor's case

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 buttressing Veteran starter Lucas Giolito joined the organization last week, buttressing a shallow rotation. — Dennis Lin, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026 The competition with China will hinge not on mimicking Beijing’s methods but on buttressing the core strengths of the United States. — Lael Brainard, Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2025 Traffic among higher-income shoppers has grown, Kempczinski added, buttressing the company’s revenue. — Max Zahn, ABC News, 7 Nov. 2025 The upstream glaciers, now without their buttressing support, flow faster toward the sea. — Evan Howell, Quanta Magazine, 20 Oct. 2025 Any good Marxist can tell you that the ruling class of any nation will frequently make social concessions as a way of buttressing its brute political power with moral credibility. — Book Marks august 7, Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buttressing
  1. sustaining
  2. reinforcing
  3. supporting
  4. bolstering
  5. carrying
  6. upholding
Verb
  • The Hurricanes took the lead back after Xavier Lucas, who was playing in his first game since sustaining an injury in the season opener, recovered a Riles fumble (forced by Ethan O’Connor).
    — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Two of the estimated 400 firefighters assigned to the Norte Fire were stabilized at a hospital after sustaining unspecified injuries battling the blaze, McGovern said.
    — Nicole Acevedo, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of sustaining
Verb
  • Residents walked and rode bicycles along the boardwalk as dozers and excavators moved along the beach, reinforcing the several-foot-high berms built to protect homes from the ocean waves.
    — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • For Jim, the potential debt raise is a win for both companies, reinforcing the idea that Nvidia customers are generating strong returns on their AI investments.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of reinforcing
Verb
  • So regenerative has to regenerate livelihoods and communities too, including decent work and supporting the women who do much of the labor in cotton in many contexts.
    — SJ Studio, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • While Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia is planning to escalate with drone or rocket strikes on European allies supporting Ukraine, other countries have called for calm.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of supporting
Verb
  • Black, a district alumnus, is running on a platform of bolstering the district’s college and career readiness programs and boosting teacher retention.
    — Sophia Veneziano, San Antonio Express-News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Rather than bolstering support for traditional hunting practices, the constitutional amendment could make sportsmen and women pariahs in the public’s eye and invite further ballot initiatives.
    — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of bolstering
Verb
  • Nobody is accountable for carrying that signal across the business, another way of saying nobody owns it.
    — Jay Lee, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The cost of carrying a credit card balance and getting a car loan have also increased.
    — Matt Egan, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of carrying
Verb
  • In April, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion upholding an arbitrator’s findings that the union may follow the card-signing process as a path to represent the workers.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Rubio visited Portugal a day after delivering a speech in the Greek capital, Athens, urging European countries to save Western civilization by upholding the values and traditions of ancient Greece.
    — Matthew Lee, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of upholding

Browse Nearby Words

buttresses
buttressing
butts
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Cite this Entry

“Buttressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buttressing. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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