Soutenir

Soutenir is a French verb meaning to support or to sustain. It covers physical support, such as bearing weight or holding something up; it also denotes backing or sponsorship, including financial backing and moral or emotional support. In intellectual or argumentative contexts, soutenir means to uphold, defend, or maintain a position, claim, or idea. Common expressions include soutenir quelqu’un (to support someone), soutenir une cause (to back a cause), soutenir un projet (to back a project), and soutenir une thèse ou une proposition (to uphold a thesis or proposition).

Conjugation and form. Soutenir is irregular and has a distinctive present-tense stem: je soutiens, tu soutiens, il soutient, nous soutenons, vous soutenez, ils soutiennent. Other tenses include passé composé with avoir soutenu; imperfect: soutenais, soutenais, soutenait, soutenions, souteniez, soutenaient; future: soutiendrai, soutiendras, soutiendra, soutiendrons, soutiendrez, soutiendront; conditional: soutiendrais, soutiendrais, soutiendrait, soutiendrions, soutiendriez, soutiendraient. The past participle is soutenu. Etymology traces soutenu to Old French soutenir, from Latin subtenēre (sub- “under” + tenēre “to hold”).

Usage notes. The reflexive form se soutenir exists, with reciprocal or self-sustaining senses: ils se soutiennent mutuellement, ou une personne peut se soutenir moralement ou financièrement. In discourse, soutenir a claim is akin to defending or upholding it against opposition, whereas aider emphasizes general help. In physical contexts, soutenir a load or a door means to bear its weight. The term is common in journalism, politics, education, and everyday speech, often combined with adverbs such as moralement, financièrement, ou politiquement.