(click/touch triangles for details)
Definition
support and strengthenAs a noun, bolster can refer to any of a number of specific things that provide support — especially a long narrow pillow.
- And besides, had he not, from the beginning to end, bolstered it with false and evil pretenses?Theodore Dreiser -- An American Tragedy
- The French president, who'd followed Fortier s demands all too quickly, would probably do it himself to bolster his standing with the people.Ted Dekker -- White: The Great Pursuit
- It was not enough to see by, but it bolstered Eragon's confidence.Christopher Paolini -- Eragon
- Although she was bolstered up in her bed and could neither walk or stand, she was always calm.David McCullough -- John Adams
- No giants or ogres remained to bolster their thinning lines, and each passing second saw more of their allies desert the cause.R.A. Salvatore -- The Crystal Shard
- This bolstered me through the third anniversary of the coronation, and it made me feel almost alive again.Roger Zelazny -- Nine Princes in Amber
- The idea of sleeping in the near open bolstered my sense of freedom.Maya Angelou -- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- Her head was in the center of the bolster, the widow's place in which she herself laid it.Eudora Welty -- The Golden Apples
- I dragged myself toward the bed, to seek the only defense I had left—my saving knife; but I could not reach the bolster.Alexandre Dumas -- The Three Musketeers
- "Jace saw him die," she added, as if to bolster her claim.Cassandra Clare -- City of Bones
- The vigilantes were bolstering up the craven Frenchy.Zane Grey -- The Border Legion
- Nathan would —main on the ground, remove the joystick and turn it to anual, and then carefully tie and bolster the chair, sec ring the pedals.Jojo Moyes -- Me Before You
- We've all started to put down the virtues of the other factions in the process of bolstering our own.Veronica Roth -- Divergent
- He discovered that Bell had dressed up the bolster in his evening clothes.W. Somerset Maugham -- Of Human Bondage
- MOS: "Down-beds, and bolsters"— VOLP: Rare!Ben Jonson -- Volpone
- He took her hand in his, gave it a bolstering squeeze.Nora Roberts -- Dark Witch
- I wanted you to have a chance to get yourself on solid ground, get your heart bolstered up first.Sue Monk Kidd -- The Secret Life of Bees
- We put Alphie in the pram and pile around him the pot, the pan, the kettle, the jam jars and mugs, the Pope, two bolsters and the coats from the beds.Frank McCourt -- Angela's Ashes
- The bed had a spring mattress, and a special sort of bolster and silk pillowcases on the little pillows.Leo Tolstoy -- Anna Karenina
- His other arm bolstered Nurse Duckett, who was trembling and sobbing against him, too, her long, angular face dead white.Joseph Heller -- Catch-22