Definition

1. Noun:
   • The state of continuing to exist or live: The condition of maintaining life, especially at a minimal level.
   • The means by which one maintains life: The minimum resources (such as food, money, or shelter) required to support life.
   • Something that has real and substantial existence: (Philosophical) The state of having objective reality or substance.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The explorers were in a constant struggle for subsistence in the harsh wilderness.
  • For many families in the region, fishing is their only means of subsistence.
  • The philosopher debated the subsistence of abstract ideas outside of human thought.

Advanced Usage

• "bare subsistence": the absolute minimum required to stay alive.
  • The refugees were living at a level of bare subsistence.
• "subsistence agriculture/farming": farming that provides only enough food for the farmer's own family, with little or no surplus for sale.
  • The village's economy is based on subsistence agriculture.
• "subsistence level": a standard of living that provides only the necessities of life.
  • Many workers were paid wages at a mere subsistence level.

Variants and Related Words

• Subsist (verb): To maintain or support life, especially at a minimal level.
  • The animal subsists on a diet of insects and plants.
• Subsistent (adjective): (Rare) Existing, having reality.
• Subsistence allowance (noun): An advance of money paid to an employee before payday.

Synonyms

• Survival: The state of continuing to live, often in spite of difficult conditions.
• Existence: The fact or state of living or having objective reality.
• Livelihood: A means of securing the necessities of life.
• Sustenance: Food and drink regarded as a source of strength; nourishment.

Related Phrases

• Subsistence economy: An economy which produces only the minimum necessities for the survival of its participants.
• Subsistence wage: A wage that is just enough for a worker to buy the basic necessities of life.

Noun

1. the state of existing in reality; having substance
2. a means of surviving
   • farming is a hard means of subsistence
3. minimal (or marginal) resources for subsisting
   • social security provided only a bare subsistence