as in defended
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as in safeguarded
to drive danger or attack away from
the mother bear was just trying to protect her cubs
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Recent Examples of protected
Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
The Surgeon General's office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are banned for 10 years from wielding legal, regulatory or economic pressure to persuade the platforms to remove protected speech.
—Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
The anti-discrimination law, which adds family or relationship structure as a protected class in the city alongside race, religion, gender and other categories, was finalized Monday and will go into effect in mid-April.
—Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
The Senate on Monday, March 9, passed Senate File 579, which expands the state's 2025 law eliminating gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act to local governments and imposes new constraints on local civil rights panels' powers.
—Marissa Payne, Des Moines Register, 10 Mar. 2026
Sweeney did concede that the uncertainty around two of the four first-round picks (the Toronto pick this year is top-5 protected and the Florida pick next year is top-10 protected) added to the reticence to move any of them.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
The 1993 case did not consider political expression as a protected class.
—Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 3 Mar. 2026
In addition to the anxiety over Monday's ruling, Petit said, Haitians under protected status were living amid an uptick in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in areas with large Haitian communities in South Florida.
—Suzanne Gamboa, NBC news, 3 Feb. 2026
Each guest room and suite has a unique layout and design, as is the case when transforming a historic and protected building into a hotel.
—Gisela Williams, Travel + Leisure, 31 Jan. 2026
Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
With a superior code and decoder in hand, Cain, Xu, and Huang developed ways to pull off the intricate manipulations of the real qubits required to perform calculations, all while keeping them protected.
—Quanta Magazine, 3 Apr. 2026
That the relationships, the reputation, the revenue—all of it is somehow protected by your track record.
—Brendan Keegan, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2026
The clearest indicators are protected income sources like Social Security and few or no garnishable assets.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2026
The population is increasing, mainly because they were protected (in) 1994.
—Paris Barraza, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
The wildlife that Bied unlawfully imported and conspired to import was protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
—Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 3 Apr. 2026
Make sure your bee hotel is protected from afternoon sun and rain by attaching it to a garage wall, for example, under an eave.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 3 Apr. 2026
Legal experts said appeals in the latest cases could find their way to the Supreme Court, which could determine whether the companies should be protected by law against the claims.
—Jennifer Elias,jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
If your income comes primarily from protected sources like Social Security or disability benefits, a court judgment may pose little immediate threat.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 27 Mar. 2026
The Surgeon General's office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are banned for 10 years from wielding legal, regulatory or economic pressure to persuade the platforms to remove protected speech.
—Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
The anti-discrimination law, which adds family or relationship structure as a protected class in the city alongside race, religion, gender and other categories, was finalized Monday and will go into effect in mid-April.
—Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
The Senate on Monday, March 9, passed Senate File 579, which expands the state's 2025 law eliminating gender identity as a protected class in the Iowa Civil Rights Act to local governments and imposes new constraints on local civil rights panels' powers.
—Marissa Payne, Des Moines Register, 10 Mar. 2026
Sweeney did concede that the uncertainty around two of the four first-round picks (the Toronto pick this year is top-5 protected and the Florida pick next year is top-10 protected) added to the reticence to move any of them.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
The 1993 case did not consider political expression as a protected class.
—Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 3 Mar. 2026
In addition to the anxiety over Monday's ruling, Petit said, Haitians under protected status were living amid an uptick in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in areas with large Haitian communities in South Florida.
—Suzanne Gamboa, NBC news, 3 Feb. 2026
Each guest room and suite has a unique layout and design, as is the case when transforming a historic and protected building into a hotel.
—Gisela Williams, Travel + Leisure, 31 Jan. 2026
Verb
After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm.
—Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
With a superior code and decoder in hand, Cain, Xu, and Huang developed ways to pull off the intricate manipulations of the real qubits required to perform calculations, all while keeping them protected.
—Quanta Magazine, 3 Apr. 2026
That the relationships, the reputation, the revenue—all of it is somehow protected by your track record.
—Brendan Keegan, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2026
The clearest indicators are protected income sources like Social Security and few or no garnishable assets.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 3 Apr. 2026
The population is increasing, mainly because they were protected (in) 1994.
—Paris Barraza, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
The wildlife that Bied unlawfully imported and conspired to import was protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
—Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 3 Apr. 2026
Make sure your bee hotel is protected from afternoon sun and rain by attaching it to a garage wall, for example, under an eave.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 3 Apr. 2026
Legal experts said appeals in the latest cases could find their way to the Supreme Court, which could determine whether the companies should be protected by law against the claims.
—Jennifer Elias,jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for protected
Adjective
-
Such endurance is central to the aircraft’s role in long-range deterrence operations and potential missions in heavily defended regions.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Private firefighting outfits defended companies, utilities, and ultrarich enclaves while other parts of the city burned.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Protect Civilian Infrastructure All sides should cease strikes on civilian targets and critical infrastructure, including energy facilities, desalination plants and safeguarded nuclear sites, in line with international humanitarian law.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
-
The Panthers have safeguarded the depth at the position by bringing back Franks, a special teams ace, and Mitchell.—
Mike Kaye
March 26,
Charlotte Observer,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Astronomers typically find such volatile ices only in very cold and shielded environments, such as dense molecular clouds, the envelopes surrounding young stellar objects, or the disks where planets form.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
15 Mar. 2026
-
As is customary, terms of the settlement were not revealed and will likely remain shielded by non-disclosure and non-disparagement language.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Moscow might present itself as the home of a great civilization, but its authority has been seized from elsewhere (notably Kyiv) and remains jealously guarded.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Miles scored 11 in the first half, including hitting two 3s while being guarded by the All-American defender.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Leon’s invention secured interest from Gaston himself, who came to see him in Venezuela in 1987.—
Simon Akam,
Vanity Fair,
2 Apr. 2026
-
In 2025 district attorneys filed charges in four cases referred to their offices and secured convictions in three.—
Joe Rubin,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
If the umbrella flips or begins to blow with the wind, a grip will provide a secure hold that allows the user to operate the item with ease.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The new space will house offices for the first lady, kitchen space, a double-decker colonnade and upgrades to a secure underground military complex.—
Arden Farhi,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Protected.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/protected. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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