UPHOLD Synonyms: 94 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

uphold

verb

(ˌ)əp-ˈhōld

Definition of uphold next

as in to defend

to continue to declare to be true or proper despite opposition or objections determined to uphold her views in the face of all challenges

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to sustain

to hold up or serve as a foundation for an entablature upheld by a series of gracefully slender columns

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in to lift

to move from a lower to a higher place or position worshippers upheld their joined hands and sang the praises of the Lord

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 And if the man in the Oval Office is the enabler of such apps and instructs the Attorney General to ignore a law the Supreme Court upheld just this month, is there anything to be done? —

Philip Elliott, TIME, 28 Jan. 2025 Most jurisdictions, for example, uphold some form of a family’s right to a dignified burial for loved ones. —

Tyler McBrien, The Dial, 28 Jan. 2025 The law stated that January 19th the Supreme Court upheld this, that the owner, ByteDance, would have to sell TikTok to an American owner. —

CBS News, 26 Jan. 2025 Glover was unable to overcome legislative questions about her commitment to upholding Connecticut’s strong reproductive rights laws and complaints that her long experience in the federal courts left her unfamiliar with the state’s courts. —

Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 25 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for uphold

Recent Examples of Synonyms for uphold

Verb

When one poster on the Overton, TX Citizens Forum Facebook page reported in early January that the rooster tried to attack her husband outside the store, people were quick to defend Ol’ Red’s character.

— Rhiannon Saegert, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Jan. 2025
At his confirmation hearing, senators will ask him to defend that dangerous, alternative reality.

— Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2025