as in to protect
to drive danger or attack away from
learned to use humor to fend herself from criticism
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fend
The dampness of their skin draws a burring frenzy of sandflies and they are driven from the reservoir’s edge, Tamsin swatting her sunhat in wide arcs to fend them off.
—
Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
For years, teachers were largely left to make and enforce their own device policies, and parents wishing to curtail their kids’ phone use had to fend for themselves.
—Gail Cornwall, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2025
Hundreds of thousands sheltering in shattered buildings of the city have been left to fend for themselves after the fall of Hamas’ policing apparatus.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
Lithuania is fending without Domantas Sabonis, Matas Buzelis, and Kasparas Jakucionas this summer, leaving Denver backup center Jonas Valanciunas as the centerpiece of the roster.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fend
Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2025
For years, teachers were largely left to make and enforce their own device policies, and parents wishing to curtail their kids’ phone use had to fend for themselves.
—Gail Cornwall, The Atlantic, 25 Aug. 2025
Hundreds of thousands sheltering in shattered buildings of the city have been left to fend for themselves after the fall of Hamas’ policing apparatus.
—Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
Lithuania is fending without Domantas Sabonis, Matas Buzelis, and Kasparas Jakucionas this summer, leaving Denver backup center Jonas Valanciunas as the centerpiece of the roster.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fend
Verb
-
With his back against the wall, Tony must draw on his tactical training to protect his family and survive a deadly showdown with a powerful crime syndicate.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Some Cosmists saw technology as destructive and transformative, while others believed its role should be to protect and preserve.—
Tim Brinkhof,
Big Think,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Tesla spent years defending, ultimately successfully, its 2016 acquisition of Solar City, Musk’s struggling clean-energy company.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Acosta defended the deal with Epstein in a news conference four days after the multi-millionaire's arrest.—
James Hill,
ABC News,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
This safeguards regulatory adherence while ensuring fair market competition between domestic and imported products.—
Nish Acharya,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Advertisement Advertisement Yet, the decades-long effort to secure passage of the VRA offers pragmatic wisdom for safeguarding—and even extending—the gains enshrined by the law.—
Time,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Demerzel shields the embryo with her body, and both are incinerated, vanishing in a white-hot instant, love and code consumed together.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
-
This consistency, Nassau argues, shields founders from the reputational hit of a prior lead refusing to participate in follow-ons.—
Lyssanoel Frater,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The result is an erosion of individual agency and a system that guards access rather than broadens it.—
Anmol Verma,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
This conversation should always be open, hones, and not guarded or ashamed.—
Taylor Lane,
Flow Space,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fend. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share