1
as in to protect
to drive danger or attack away from
a solemn oath to defend the mother country at any cost
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to justify
to continue to declare to be true or proper despite opposition or objections
she will pigheadedly defend any claim regardless of all evidence to the contrary
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defend
Tiffany Stratton also successfully defended her WWE Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair.
—
Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Tiffany Stratton defended the WWE Women’s Championship with a pinfall victory over Charotte Flair on Saturday night at WrestleMania 41.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2025
The letter comes more than a year before three of those five officials will seek to defend their positions in the 2026 election.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 20 Apr. 2025
Our biggest key against these guys was to defend the 3-point line and this team really has the ability to shoot it.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defend
Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
Tiffany Stratton defended the WWE Women’s Championship with a pinfall victory over Charotte Flair on Saturday night at WrestleMania 41.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2025
The letter comes more than a year before three of those five officials will seek to defend their positions in the 2026 election.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 20 Apr. 2025
Our biggest key against these guys was to defend the 3-point line and this team really has the ability to shoot it.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defend
Verb
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Open for just 24 hours, starting April 24, the project is meant to humanize the harms of social media use among young children and call for governments and private companies to act urgently to protect online spaces for young users.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2025
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Smarter, Faster And Safer Solutions From speeding up transactions to protecting users from fraud, AI is becoming a driving force in financial services.—
Paul Marcantonio,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The myth that trans women are a danger to cis women is a grossly transphobic stereotype with almost no real-world justification, but Rowling pins most of her anti-trans arguments on it, using her experience as a survivor of domestic abuse to justify her prejudice.—
Aja Romano,
Vox,
18 Apr. 2025
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As a result, the court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to either determine whether greenhouse gases from new vehicles contribute to climate change, and therefore endanger human health, or justify its refusal to study the issue.—
Hannah Wiseman,
The Conversation,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Starting one’s own business is not just a matter of choice or career but a new way to safeguard your status in society.—
Jon Michail,
Forbes.com,
23 Apr. 2025
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China is determined and capable of safeguarding its own rights and interests.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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This substantial commitment reflects the scale of investment required to maintain competitive positioning in the rapidly evolving AI infrastructure market.—
Maribel Lopez,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
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The two met in 2019, during Trump’s first term, when Bukele asked for the administration to maintain Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans.—
Haisten Willis,
The Washington Examiner,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Specifically, the Swiss Guard accompanies the pope to public appearances, guards Vatican City and protects the College of Cardinals during a conclave (the election of a new pope), according to The Holy See.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
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He was trained throughout his time as a junior officer to protect and guard the nation’s secrets.—
Tara Suter,
The Hill,
22 Apr. 2025
Verb
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During this same period, the dean of admissions for each program or school must sign a public statement after each admissions cycle certifying that these rules have been upheld.—
Kayla Jimenez,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
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For example, Vampire Stack upholds his promise to Smoke about letting Sammie live out his life in peace.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defend. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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