1
as in sustaining
to hold up or serve as a foundation for
a brace buttressed the wall
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Recent Examples of buttressing
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
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.
—Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buttressing
Verb
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Western governments have imposed sanctions on her in the past for her part in sustaining Maduro’s administration.—
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Puig first tore the ACL in his left knee in the Western Conference final in 2024, assisting on the game’s only goal after sustaining the injury.—
Verb
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From that vantage point, the economy appears to move past each disruption in turn, reinforcing the idea that these are temporary events.—
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The projects are expected to provide thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of long-term operational jobs while reinforcing the American nuclear supply chain.—
Verb
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If your money wasn’t involved in supporting the Dallas Cowboys show, all of it may be funny, instead of just flat, sad, and a bad joke.—
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The companies said the robotaxi is designed to deliver a premium passenger experience while supporting large-scale autonomous deployment.—
Verb
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Furthermore, the capital will enable Swap to enter new target geographies, equally bolstering its payments capabilities.—
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In the past some years, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Oman have also been bolstering their mediation efforts and seeking more prominent roles in helping reduce conflicts.—
Verb
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Putin is yet to comment on the developments related to the tanker, which the US had previously sanctioned for carrying illicit Iranian oil.—
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Russia attacks Ukraine with new Oreshnik ballistic missile Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with a new hypersonic ballistic missile, an advanced weapon capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.—
Verb
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With the global order in flux and the great powers pursuing geopolitical and normative revisionism, there has been much discussion about the role small and middle powers can play in upholding international law and multilateralism.—
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But upholding the rule of law also means making sure there are consequences for those who undermine it.—
Cite this Entry
“Buttressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buttressing. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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