sustainable

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   Designed to meet present needs without using up natural resources or harming the environment for the future.

   Grammar: Often before a noun: sustainable farming.

   Patterns

   • sustainable development
   • a sustainable source of something

   The farm switched to sustainable methods that protect the soil.

   Wind and solar are more sustainable than coal.

   The shop sells clothes made from sustainable materials.

2. 2adjectivecomparable

   Able to continue at the same level for a long time without failing or becoming too costly.

   Grammar: Used about plans and growth: a sustainable pace.

   Patterns

   • a sustainable pace
   • financially sustainable

   Working eighteen hours a day is not a sustainable way to live.

   The charity needs a sustainable income to keep the clinic open.

   Slow, steady growth is more sustainable than a quick boom.

3. 3adjectiveafter a verbformal

   Able to be defended or upheld as valid, especially in law or argument.

   Grammar: Often negative: the claim is not sustainable.

   Patterns

   • be sustainable in law

   The court said the argument was not sustainable.

   His position became unsustainable after the leaked emails.

Word forms

Common combinations

sustainable development

The conference focused on sustainable development in poor regions.

sustainable energy

The island runs on sustainable energy from the sun.

sustainable growth

Investors prefer sustainable growth to quick gains.

environmentally sustainable

The new building is environmentally sustainable.

sustainable fishing

Sustainable fishing lets fish populations recover.

financially sustainable

The project is only financially sustainable with donations.

Synonyms and how they differ

renewable

Renewable describes resources that replace themselves, while sustainable describes a whole way of operating.

eco-friendly

Eco-friendly is informal and means not harmful to nature, but it does not suggest lasting over time.

viable

Viable means able to work or succeed, without implying care for the environment.

maintainable

Maintainable means easy to keep going, and is common in technical contexts.

Opposites

Word family

sustain verb

to keep something going

sustainability noun

the ability to continue without harm

sustainably adverb

in a way that can continue

unsustainable adjective

not able to continue

sustenance noun

food needed to live

Commonly confused: sustainable or sustained? sustainable or renewable?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “sustainable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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