Bolstering

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Providing support or reinforcement to make something stronger or more secure
2. Adding strength or backing to uphold or improve stability or effectiveness
3. Giving additional help or fortification to sustain or enhance an object, idea, or structure

Etymology: The verb "bolstering" comes from a noun that originally meant a pillow. Old English "bolster" was a cushion for a bed or a seat, and its ancestor in Proto-Germanic, "bulstraz," carried the same sense of a soft pad. The noun's relatives across the Germanic languages still point that way: German "Polster" means an upholstery pad or cushion, and Swedish "bolster" is a soft mattress. The shift from soft furnishing to support came through the idea of propping something up. A bolster filled a gap or braced a weight, so the verb developed the sense of reinforcing or shoring up something that might otherwise sag. A bolstered argument is one padded with extra evidence, and a bolstered currency is one given outside support, so the word moved from comfort to structure.

Synonyms: supporting, reinforcing, strengthening, buttressing, upholding

Antonyms: weakening, diminishing, undermining, detracting, subverting