1
as in protects
to drive danger or attack away from
a solemn oath to defend the mother country at any cost
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in justifies
to continue to declare to be true or proper despite opposition or objections
she will pigheadedly defend any claim regardless of all evidence to the contrary
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defends
Reyes defends pay, confirms residency During the meeting, CBS News Miami asked about the nearly half-million-dollar salary attached to the position.
—
Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
Because the anti-Trump side defends the rule of law, it can be drawn into legalistic objections that sound pettifogging and irrelevant.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
The scene came in a fictional segment parodying Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead in which Maggie defends her architectural talents after her daycare teacher punishes her for making beautiful structures from building blocks.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Dec. 2025
Landry defends her and bashes her stalker’s head with a pipe.
—Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
Kansas defends Chiefs move Despite the hurt feelings in Missouri, Kansas officials have regularly argued that their efforts to lure the Chiefs through the use of incentives did not violate the border war truce.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 29 Dec. 2025
The North American Aerospace Defense Command defends North American airspace 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
—Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Dec. 2025
Justice Department defends partial release The Justice Department on Sunday defended its initial, partial release of documents, some of which were heavily redacted.
—Andrea Hsu, NPR, 21 Dec. 2025
Today, almost no American politician, Democrat or Republican, defends the World Trade Organization.
—Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
Because the anti-Trump side defends the rule of law, it can be drawn into legalistic objections that sound pettifogging and irrelevant.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
The scene came in a fictional segment parodying Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead in which Maggie defends her architectural talents after her daycare teacher punishes her for making beautiful structures from building blocks.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Dec. 2025
Landry defends her and bashes her stalker’s head with a pipe.
—Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
Kansas defends Chiefs move Despite the hurt feelings in Missouri, Kansas officials have regularly argued that their efforts to lure the Chiefs through the use of incentives did not violate the border war truce.
—Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 29 Dec. 2025
The North American Aerospace Defense Command defends North American airspace 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
—Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Dec. 2025
Justice Department defends partial release The Justice Department on Sunday defended its initial, partial release of documents, some of which were heavily redacted.
—Andrea Hsu, NPR, 21 Dec. 2025
Today, almost no American politician, Democrat or Republican, defends the World Trade Organization.
—Literary Hub, 5 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defends
Verb
-
The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined in a federal whistleblower investigation that Balkan Express LLC violated the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, which protects commercial motor vehicle safety complaints, according to the release.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Regular sweeping protects floors by removing gritty debris that can scratch and damage finishes.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Satisfy gets a lot of flack for its prices, but this running jacket justifies the price tag thanks to its effective modularity and (extremely) lightweight design.—
Will Porter,
Outside,
4 Jan. 2026
-
While there are legitimate concerns throughout the Midwest about future reliability due to new data centers and their substantial power consumption, there is no looming emergency that justifies the administration’s action here.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The Athletic maintains full editorial independence.—
Data Skrive,
New York Times,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty and his legal team maintains he's being scapegoated.—
Peter Charalambous,
ABC News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This upholds an earlier injunction from Jackson to ensure the agency would continue to exist as congressionally mandated, and to stop efforts to shutter the CFPB, including through layoffs.—
Stephan Bisaha,
NPR,
30 Dec. 2025
-
If the Court upholds the rules, the existing anti-corruption framework remains intact.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Therefore, the present work supports the belief that rational materials design at both the macro and atomic levels can solve long-standing challenges, according to a press release.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Nov. 2025
-
These microorganisms are the base of a unique food chain that supports a community of cave-dwelling organisms.—
Humberto Basilio,
Scientific American,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defends. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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