Upholds

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To maintain and defend a certain principle or belief; to reaffirm a decision, law, or guideline with conviction; to provide encouragement or support for a specific course of action or idea with determination
2. Continues to support or confirm a belief or rule with firm commitment
3. Keeps a law, decision, or standard valid by confirming its correctness

Etymology: "Upholds" is the third-person singular form of "uphold", a verb built from "up" and "hold", so it carries the sense of holding something up or in place. The verb came into Middle English as "upholden", and its closest relatives show the same sense of holding something back or in position: Dutch "ophouden" means to stop or cease, and German "aufhalten" means to halt or detain. Old Norse "upphald" meant support, which points to the same physical idea of a prop or hold. The move from physical support to keeping a rule or principle intact is a short step: to uphold a law is to hold it up so it is not allowed to fall. The earlier sense of supporting a structure remains in the verb, but the abstract use of keeping something valid is the one most readers meet today.

Synonyms: supports, maintains, defends, sustains, endorses

Antonyms: abandon, reject, dismiss, contradict, oppose