Sustinance or sustenance?
Did you mean sustenance? Here's the right spelling and how to remember it.
Incorrect
sustinance
Correct
sustenance
Correct spelling: sustenance. Misspelling: sustinance.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
Memory tip
Sustain changes to susten: sus-TEN-ance.
Why people write “sustinance”
The misspelling “sustinance” is only one letter off: it writes I where sustenance has E, an easy slip because in an unstressed syllable both vowels can sound like the same soft "uh".
Spell-checkers catch the mistake in a document, but not in a handwritten note, a text message or a word game. Writing the word out a few times while saying the tricky part aloud is the quickest way to make sustenance automatic.
Other misspellings of “sustenance”
People also write “sustainance”. Here is where each one goes wrong.
“sustainance”
Correct spelling: sustenance. Misspelling: sustainance.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
“sustainance” differs from “sustenance” in 2 places: it adds an extra vowel, A; and it writes I where sustenance has E, an easy slip because in an unstressed syllable both vowels can sound like the same soft "uh".
What does “sustenance” mean?
sustenance noun
- a source of materials to nourish the body
- the financial means whereby one lives
“each child was expected to pay for their keep”
Synonyms:supportkeeplivelihoodliving
- the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence
“they were in want of sustenance”
Definitions from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Full dictionary entry
“Sustenance” in a sentence
- The soup was their only sustenance.
- Each child was expected to pay for their keep.
- They were in want of sustenance.
Is “sustenance” a playable word?
12 points in Scrabble · 16 in Words With Friends
- Scrabble (US)
- Scrabble (UK)
- Words With Friends
“sustinance” is not accepted in any of these games. See every word you can make from SUSTENANCE.