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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That’s the stage of sleep where the brain consolidates memory, repairs muscle and runs the nightly glymphatic cleaning cycle.—
John La Puma,
Oc Register,
26 Mar. 2026
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Overnight is when the skin repairs itself, produces collagen, and resets for a healthier-looking complexion.—
Amanda Le,
InStyle,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As Estévez recovers, the plan is to continue throwing while he is sidelined.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
1 Apr. 2026
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Leon never fully recovers from his wife's death.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Suddenly, you’re stuck on the couch until your poor hip heals, staring down a long road of limited mobility and rehab.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
31 Mar. 2026
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Garza, Queta’s primary understudy while Nikola Vucevic’s fractured ring finger heals, continued the trend early in the second quarter, converting three layups in a three-minute span.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Texas compensates for its lack of income tax revenue with a higher sales tax.—
System Process,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Mar. 2026
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When energy expenditure increases, the body often compensates by stimulating hunger.—
Claudio Villanueva,
The Conversation,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Once soil health improves, many gardeners find that digging individual planting holes is sufficient for establishing crops.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
4 Apr. 2026
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That said, judgments can remain valid for years and may be renewed, so if your financial situation improves later, creditors could attempt to collect at that time.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Nothing cures a style rut quite like a little color blocking.—
Amanda Le,
InStyle,
3 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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This bill fixes that at zero cost to manufacturers.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
15 Mar. 2026
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OpenAI also has plans to add an adult mode for ChatGPT, but that won’t arrive until the company fixes its age-prediction system.—
Jibin Joseph,
PC Magazine,
13 Mar. 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 5 Apr. 2026.
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