"maintains" in the verb sense

1. keep, maintain, hold

cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity e.g., `keep clean'

"hold in place"

"She always held herself as a lady"

"The students keep me on my toes"

2. conserve, preserve, maintain, keep up

keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction

"We preserve these archeological findings"

"The old lady could not keep up the building"

"children must be taught to conserve our national heritage"

"The museum curator conserved the ancient manuscripts"

3. sustain, keep, maintain

supply with necessities and support

"She alone sustained her family"

"The money will sustain our good cause"

"There's little to earn and many to keep"

4. assert, asseverate, maintain

state categorically

5. wield, exert, maintain

have and exercise

"wield power and authority"

6. keep, maintain

maintain for use and service

"I keep a car in the countryside"

"She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips"

7. keep, maintain

maintain by writing regular records

"keep a diary"

"maintain a record"

"keep notes"

8. maintain, defend

state or assert

"He maintained his innocence"

9. uphold, maintain

support against an opponent

"The appellate court upheld the verdict"

10. observe, keep, maintain

stick to correctly or closely

"The pianist kept time with the metronome"

"keep count"

"I cannot keep track of all my employees"

Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)

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