a. rare. [f. L. sustent-, pa. ppl. stem of sustinēre to SUSTAIN + -IVE.] Having the quality or property of sustaining.
1662. Stanley, Hist. Chaldaick Philos. (1701), 18/2. These Powers the Oracle calls ἀνοχῆσας, Sustainers, as sustaining the whole World. The Oracle saith, they are immoveable, implying their setled Power; sustentive, denoting their Guardianship.
1863. De Morgan, Pref., in Fr. Matter to Spirit, p. xliv. Experiences … of a character not sustentive of the gravity and dignity of the spiritual world.
