“maintaining” is a form of
maintain
/meɪnˈteɪn/ verb
Forms maintains maintaining maintained
- verb To keep up; to preserve; to uphold (a state, condition etc.). “maintain contact”
- verb To declare or affirm (a clause) to be true; to assert.
- verb To keep in good condition and working order.
- verb (obsolete, transitive) To support (someone), to back up or assist (someone) in an action.
- verb (African-American Vernacular, slang, intransitive) To keep composed; to keep one's head up; to stay confident, strong, self-assured; to avoid being a victim; to keep oneself from falling apart. “No matter what, you gotta maintain.”
Synonyms
subsist keep hold conserve preserve keep up sustain assert asseverate wield exert defend uphold observe
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English mayntenen, from Old French maintenir, from Late Latin manūteneō, manūtenēre (“I support”), from Latin manū (“with/in/by the hand”, ablative of manus) + tenēre (“to hold”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation.
- verb To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish.
Etymology [OE. maintenen, F. maintenir, properly, to hold by the hand; main hand (L. manus) + F. tenir to hold (L.tenere). See Manual, and Tenable.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “maintain”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details