withstay

W4I1T1H4S1T1A1Y4

verb

To hold back; oppose; withstand.

Similar
gainstay
Scrabble 17
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Meanings

verbwithstay (third-person singular simple present withstays, present participle withstaying, simple past and past participle withstayed)

present singular third person withstays · participle present withstaying · participle past withstayed · past withstayed

  1. transitiveTo hold back; oppose; withstand.

    Death, careful of my learning, hath withstayed His final presence.

    1854, S. T. Dobell, Balder iii. 10
    2 more examples

    It filled the passage of the rising glade, And there withstayed the sun in dazzling sheen.

    1885, R. Bridges, Eros & Psyche iii. v. 29

    More interestingly the shock has sufficiently high temperatures that nuclear binding cannot withstay and matter is ejected as free protons and neutrons from the neutron star surface.

    2008, Aldo Covello, Società italiana di fisica, Struttura Dei Nuclei Lontano Dalla Valle Di Stabilità

    Synonyms: gainstay

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo hold back; oppose; withstand.

Similar
gainstay

Origin

From with- (“back, against”) + stay.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

withstay. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withstay

MLA

“withstay.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withstay. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “withstay,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withstay.

Source: withstay on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.