1
as in defense
means or method of defending
frequent hand washing is an oft-recommended ward against the spread of common germs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in custody
responsibility for the safety and well-being of someone or something
gained the ward of his cousin upon the death of her parents
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to protect
to drive danger or attack away from
vowed that he would take whatever measures were necessary to ward the nation's people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ward
Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 10 June 2026
The incubator is draped with a blanket to protect her fragile, developing eyes from the harsh fluorescent lights of the ward.
—ABC News, 7 June 2026
Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Alfred initially refused to allow the officers inside the psych ward with their firearms, but later admitted the cops after his supervisor, NYCHHC Officer Michael Kee, 53, arrived at the scene, according to sources.
—Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ward
Noun
Smith appeared virtually from the psych ward at Bellevue Hospital for her arraignment.
—Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 10 June 2026
The incubator is draped with a blanket to protect her fragile, developing eyes from the harsh fluorescent lights of the ward.
—ABC News, 7 June 2026
Verb
Infrastructure like the Grapevine might’ve also warded her off.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 14 Feb. 2026
Alfred initially refused to allow the officers inside the psych ward with their firearms, but later admitted the cops after his supervisor, NYCHHC Officer Michael Kee, 53, arrived at the scene, according to sources.
—Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ward
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ward
Noun
-
Teams across the league are leaning into two- and three-tight-end sets to force defenses to play with bigger bodies, which affects their speed in coverage.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
-
Elijah Just rumbled toward the box and seemed to pinball around the Iranian defense.—
Iliana Limón Romero,
Los Angeles Times,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
Their charges reportedly include assaulting a police officer, disorderly behavior in a police station, disorderly behavior, resisting arrest, obscene language, escape from lawful custody, causing dangerous harm and two counts of damage and obstruction.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
16 June 2026
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The defense attorney said Lawhead-Steele spent about four weeks in jail custody, forced to sleep on a makeshift bed on the floor because the jail cell was too crowded in South Carolina.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
16 June 2026
Verb
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Australia is accelerating efforts to protect frontline troops from the growing threat of small drones, awarding a contract to defense technology firm OpenWorks under the Australian Defence Force’s Land 156 counter-drone program.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
18 June 2026
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More recent land news Republicans have introduced an amendment to a federal wildfire bill that would repeal the 2001 Roadless Rule protecting certain national forest lands from logging and roadbuilding, reports Brooke Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune.—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
Noun
-
Plot to rob a military ammunition plant Officials said the group discussed a backup plan to steal military ordnance after determining that its members lacked the expertise needed to manufacture homemade explosives.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
17 June 2026
-
Proper's father also said his son had recently obtained camping gear, food, ballistic plates, a new shotgun, rifle, ammunition, magazines and plate carriers, the FBI said.—
Sarah N. Lynch,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
Noun
-
He was evacuated to a hospital in Berlin to receive care on May 20 and was discharged on June 6, according to Serge.—
Kiki Intarasuwan,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
-
For many historians, Pennhurst serves as a reminder of how society once approached disability care and how those systems often failed the people they were intended to help.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
But Cape Verde simply did not wilt in a solid, switched-on 4-5-1 defensive shape, compressing space between the lines and defending heroically in their own penalty area to keep the European Champions at bay, and committing only one foul in the process — the fewest ever recorded in a World Cup game.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
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That particularly could be annoying to Uruguay supporters, given Messi’s stature in the sport overall and in particular with defending champion Argentina, La Celeste’s biggest rival.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
16 June 2026
Noun
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Fable 5, in particular, marked the first time that Anthropic released such an advanced offering to the public, thanks to new safeguards that block responses in specific high-risk areas.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
13 June 2026
-
Hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on security for that event, yet there were no metal detectors, no effective weapons screening, and no meaningful safeguards to prevent firearms from entering a crowded public gathering.—
Ben Wheeler
June 12,
Kansas City Star,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, the WNBA’s leading scorer, missed the game with a lower leg injury.—
Jordan Puente,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2026
-
In May 2013, the Met returned the aforementioned kneeling figures that had long guarded its Southeast Asian art wing.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ward.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ward. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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