Upholding

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To reinforce or sustain a particular ideal or notion
2. To advocate for, defend, or preserve a value or regulation steadfastly
3. Maintaining or confirming the importance of a principle or rule through continued support

Etymology: "Upholding" is the present participle of "uphold", a verb that combines "up" with "hold" and has been in English since Middle English. The literal sense is physical: to hold something up, to keep it from falling. That is the sense still present in older uses such as holding up a roof or a banner. The shift toward abstract support happened gradually, as the physical image of holding something aloft was extended to holding up a principle, a custom or a judgment against attack. Related Germanic verbs show the same pattern. Dutch "ophouden" meant "to stop, cease, hold up", and German "aufhalten" meant "to stop, halt, detain". Middle Low German and Old Norse "upphald" carried the sense of supporting or sustaining. The English verb shares this construction, so the modern moral sense of defending something steadfastly grows out of an older, plainer act of physical support.

Synonyms: supporting, maintaining

Antonyms: abandoning, rejecting