SUSTAINABLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sustainable mean? 

• SUSTAINABLE (adjective)
  The adjective SUSTAINABLE has 1 sense:

1. capable of being sustained

  Familiarity information: SUSTAINABLE used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SUSTAINABLE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Capable of being sustained

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Pertainym:

sustainability (the property of being sustainable)

Derivation:

sustain (establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts)

sustain (admit as valid)

sustain (provide with nourishment)

sustain (lengthen or extend in duration or space)

sustainability (the property of being sustainable)

 Context examples 

We remove the waste that could potentially become a pollutant and we turn it into sustainable, renewable energy.

(Biomethane rises as alternate source of energy in Brazil, Agência Brasil)

About 100 million sharks are caught and killed by humans annually, around 7 per cent of the total population, which is not naturally sustainable.

(New way to save endangered sharks – and our seafood, SciDev.Net)

Filling this “cooling gap” links with the SDGs on affordable and clean energy, poverty reduction, health and wellbeing, and sustainable cities and communities.

(Billions at risk from heat stress at home, SciDev.Net)

Renewable, plant-based materials such as bamboo have huge potential for sustainable and energy-efficient buildings.

(Visualising heat flow in bamboo could help design more energy-efficient and fire-safe buildings, University of Cambridge)

There is increasing interest around the world in using timber as a lighter, more sustainable construction alternative to steel and concrete.

(Revealing the nanostructure of wood could help raise height limits for wooden skyscrapers, University of Cambridge)

The nanostructures "may unlock many new capabilities — in this case, to create special catalysts for chemical reactions that could provide sustainable energy."

(Promising new solar-powered path to hydrogen fuel production, National Science Foundation)

Poor people often resort to chemicals to control mould growth in the home, but these can exacerbate respiratory diseases and are not a sustainable and safe prevention method.

(Smoother walls healthier for lungs, SciDev.Net)

By combining environmentally-friendly plant tissue with perfusion-based decellularization, we have shown that there can be a sustainable solution for pre-vascularized tissue engineering scaffolds.

(Human Heart Cells Grown on Spinach Leaves, VOA News)

In them, no economic activity is allowed—no matter how sustainable—except tourism and scientific research.

(Brazilian savanna unprotected, study finds, Agência Brasil)

The JAMA article concludes that ultimately, a preventive vaccine could be the only sustainable solution to a fast-changing bug that has proven adept at developing resistance.

(Vaccine for Meningitis Shows Some Protection Against Gonorrhea, VOA)