maintain

verb

1 the need to maintain close links between industry and schools:

continue, keep, keep going, keep up, keep alive, keep in existence, carry on, preserve, conserve, prolong, perpetuate, sustain, bolster (up), prop up, retain, support, bear.

▷antonyms break off.

2 the roads are maintained at public expense:

keep in good condition, keep in repair, keep up, service, rebuild, conserve, preserve, keep intact, care for, take good care of, look after.

▷antonyms neglect.

3 the costs of maintaining a family:

support, provide for, keep, finance;

nurture, feed, nourish, sustain.

▷antonyms neglect.

4 he always maintained his innocence | he maintains that he is innocent:

insist (on), declare, assert, protest, state, aver, say, announce, affirm, avow, profess, claim, allege, contend, argue, swear (to), hold to;

rare asseverate.

▷antonyms deny.

5 the King swears he will maintain the laws of God:

uphold, defend, fight for, champion, support, back, advocate.

▷antonyms abandon.

maintain Oxford Dictionary of English