1
as in repairs
to put into good shape or working order again
that shirt will be as good as new when I'm finished mending it
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in recovers
to become healthy and strong again after illness or weakness
she's mending after a particularly nasty bout of the flu
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3
as in heals
to restore to a healthy condition
mended the broken plant so that it was soon thriving again
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4
as in compensates
to make up for (an offense)
the proverb "least said, soonest mended" should be heeded by anyone tempted to angrily blurt out things they really don't mean
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5
as in improves
to change one's behavior or character for the better
everyone's written her off as a liar and a thief, but I say it's never too late to mend
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6
as in cures
to bring about recovery from
the old adage that only time can mend a broken heart
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of mends
The money helps to keep its doors open, fund church programs and mends the spirit of its congregation, the church wrote.
—
Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mends
Verb
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After a rinse-off mask and a day and night serum (which won a PEOPLE beauty award in 2025) it's added a balm which repairs split ends by relinking broken bonds for visibly healthier hair.—
Jackie Fields,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
-
For individual cellular damage, your body either repairs it or destroys the cell and replaces it.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Knowing how the brain moves in spaceflight and subsequently recovers allows researchers to understand the effects of microgravity on human physiology.—
Rachael Seidler,
The Conversation,
11 Feb. 2026
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But every player recovers at a different pace, even those who have seemed bionic in the past.—
Pete Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This process closely resembles how human skin heals after a cut.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Feb. 2026
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The optimistic take is not that this heals itself.—
Josh Tanenbaum,
Fortune,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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On Monday, Nichols introduced an update to Idaho’s existing law that compensates crime victims if the perpetrator reaches a financial agreement to tell their story.—
Kevin Fixler
January 27,
Idaho Statesman,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The system compensates for the Earth's rotation by counter-spinning the sensor while the telescope follows the sky, keeping everything rock-steady.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Replacing your roof not only improves safety and performance, but also boosts curb appeal and increases your home’s value.—
TIMEPROOF USA Roofing Company,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Feb. 2026
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The data is clear that, over time, exercise improves both mental health and cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, Bigliassi said.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The movie, a result of Cook’s wild imagination and British legends, is a horror fantasy drama set in 1893 about Betty Lutey (Beatie Edney), while barred from studying medicine, cures someone with Tuberculosis with a mermaid’a cursed pearl comb.—
James Russell,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Oct. 2025
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Her father, Raúl, once a hopeful biotechnologist, now pours his fear into strange, homemade cures no one else trusts.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Swapping the wires usually fixes the problem.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Feb. 2026
-
If your cap looks off-kilter, seat it properly and test to see if that fixes the problem.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The charitable series, formerly starring LeAnne Rimes and Luke Grimes, ensures 15-percent of ticket proceeds go to the Saving Grace Equine Healing Foundation that rescues and rehabilitates horses.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
15 Jan. 2026
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In total, the Ventana Wildlife Society — a group that traps, breeds and rehabilitates the vultures for release into the wild — has tracked 30 different condors that took multiple trips to parts of Alameda and Contra Costa counties sometime in the past two years.—
Kyle Martin,
Mercury News,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mends. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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