List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 226

SYNONYMS: livelihood, living, subsistence, sustenance, maintenance, support, keep.
These nouns denote the means needed to provide the necessities of life.

Livelihood and living are often interchangeable, but livelihood may specify the occupation by means of which one earns an income: Painting is her livelihood. He earns a living as a cook.
Subsistence is sometimes equivalent to living: The principal part of our subsistence was to be had by our guns.
Sustenance applies to what is necessary to sustain life and especially to the food needed for health and comfort: The urban homeless are often in desperate need of sustenance.
Maintenance, support, and keep are usually reckoned as the equivalent in money of what is needed to supply necessities such as food, lodging, and clothing: Both parents contribute to the maintenance of their children. He lives in an opulent apartment but has no visible means of support. Long before they reached their teens they were earning their keep. Support also applies to one that provides the necessaries, means, or funds to sustain others: Her earnings are the only support of her aged parents.