to subsist
- verb
- /səbˈsɪst/
- I should have said: it is my fault we subsist on rice and dried fish.
So we got insurance and, and we were able to subsist for two years.
- So we got insurance and, and we were able to subsist for two years.
- I think I need some ability to live and subsist in the society that I am in.
- These organizations can't subsist down there without sort of some sort of help from the other side of that snake.
- And the truth is in this business, you have to subsist on hope and you have to take these little these little signs that you should keep going.
- Most survivors of narcissistic relationships have trained themselves to subsist on emotional bread crumbs for a long time, like emotional camels in a way.
- You know, I was drinking like Budweiser or still like eat subsisting on Boston Market and like Starbucks.
Examples
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About nine million pensioners and annuitants subsist on a low income, but wield great electoral power.
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Before landing in federal custody, Vicente and her children had subsisted mostly on crackers, water, and orange juice.
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So we got insurance and, and we were able to subsist for two years.
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I think I need some ability to live and subsist in the society that I am in.
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Most rural families subsist on money sent to them from relatives working in the United States.
Academic text (2008) -
The people of Hvar were unable to subsist on their own natural resources.
Academic text (1993) -
About nine million pensioners and annuitants subsist on a low income, but wield great electoral power.
Academic text (1995) -
His limited income precludes the purchasing of fresh foods, so he subsists largely on processed, carbohydrate-laden food bank donations.
Academic text (2011) -
The people of my village subsist on the maize, beans, and peppers we grew.
Synonyms
To continue to be alive
Manage to live on very little money
To manage to live with very little money or food
To continue to exist for a long time despite problems
Rely on someone, a job, or savings for the food and money you need
To survive by using a certain food or money
Live with only enough money for basic needs
To keep enough money to pay bills and not owe money
Live with difficulty because you have little money
To manage to survive when you have money problems
Antonyms
How Well-Off
Surface Forms
Morphology
subsist = sub + sist
Although historically analyzable as Latin sub- + -sist, the root -sist is not a standalone English word and the meaning 'manage to stay alive' is not derivable from the visible parts for an average learner.
Etymology
Subsist comes from Latin parts sub- meaning 'under' and sistere meaning 'to stand', and you can see the same root in the word exist. So to subsist is like 'standing under' support and today it means to keep living or 'get by' with very little.