subsistence
Just getting by
Subsistence is the state of having just enough to stay alive—the bare minimum of food, shelter, and resources needed for survival.
Subsistence farming or subsistence living produces only what's necessary for the farmer's own use, with nothing left over to sell.
They lived at subsistence level for years.
The word often implies precariousness—existence without comfort or security.
Consumable nourishment source
- waterClear essential liquid
- shelterProtected place or structure
- clothingBody coverings worn daily
- warmthHeat you feel
sustenance · nourishment · bare necessities · essentials · provisions · firewood · bedding · potable
Insufficiency of something needed
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
- precariousnessState of uncertain stability
- rationingLimiting distribution during scarcity
- enduranceSustained effort capacity
resilience · makeshift · adversity · bare minimum · deprivation · struggle · want · meager
Pursuing wild game
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
- fishingCatching aquatic creatures
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
- trappingCatching with concealed devices
berries · nuts · game · bushmeat · shellfish · edible plants · snaring · netting
Cultivating land for food
- cultivationFostering growth through care
- harvestGathering mature crops
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- cropsCultivated plants for harvest
livestock · smallholding · homesteading · tillage · planting · husbandry · crop rotation · seedtime
Direct goods-for-goods exchange
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
- hand-to-mouthConsuming resources immediately
- small-scaleLimited in size or scope
- localismPreference for nearby things
peasant · sharecropping · tenancy · cottage industry · artisanal · cooperative · communal · trade
Of a clan
- ancestralOf one's forebears
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- pastoralOf countryside or clergy care
- nomadicWithout fixed residence
seminomadic · herding · pastoralism · traditional knowledge · seasonal migration · communal land · customary · village
food
Consumable nourishment source
warmth · sustenance · nourishment · bare necessities · essentials · provisions · firewood · bedding · potable · staples
scarcity
Insufficiency of something needed
- hardshipSuffering from difficult circumstances
- precariousnessState of uncertain stability
- rationingLimiting distribution during scarcity
endurance · resilience · makeshift · adversity · bare minimum · deprivation · struggle · want · meager · frugality
hunting
Pursuing wild game
- gatheringCollection of people meeting
- fishingCatching aquatic creatures
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
trapping · berries · nuts · game · bushmeat · shellfish · edible plants · snaring · netting · spearfishing
farming
Cultivating land for food
- cultivationFostering growth through care
- harvestGathering mature crops
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
crops · livestock · smallholding · homesteading · tillage · planting · husbandry · crop rotation · seedtime · sowing
barter
Direct goods-for-goods exchange
- self-sufficiencyIndependence from outside aid
- hand-to-mouthConsuming resources immediately
- small-scaleLimited in size or scope
localism · peasant · sharecropping · tenancy · cottage industry · artisanal · cooperative · communal · trade · exchange
tribal
Of a clan
- ancestralOf one's forebears
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- pastoralOf countryside or clergy care
nomadic · seminomadic · herding · pastoralism · traditional knowledge · seasonal migration · communal land · customary · village · rural
- AlaskaFairbanks, Juneau, Denali, Sitka, Kodiak
- living conditionshousing, income, employment, healthcare access, education access
- hard timeshardship, struggle, struggling, unemployment, tough times
- homesteadinghomesteading, self-sufficiency, off-grid living, off-grid, chicken coop
- necessitiesbasics, essentials, need, essential, needs
- wealth statuspoor, rich, wealthy, affluent, middle-class
subsistencenonexistence
Absence of being
nothingness · nonbeing · inexistence · absence · unreality
subsistencecessation
A full stopping
termination · ending · discontinuance · expiration · end
- subsistence farmerGrower producing for household consumption
- subsistence farmingGrowing food for household
- subsistence farmSelf-sufficient agricultural plot
- subsistence livingSurviving without surplus
- subsistence huntingHunting solely for food
- subsistence wagesMinimum income for survival