DEFENSES Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

defenses

noun

plural of defense

as in safeguards

means or method of defending thorns are a rose's defense against grazing animals

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in excuses

an explanation that frees one from fault or blame there's absolutely no defense for your actions

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of defenses The spa There are treatment rooms for a variety of massages, facials, and indulgences based on Wei Qi, a concept rooted in traditional Chinese medicine that boosts the body’s defenses. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026 Ukraine’s defenses have been hobbled in recent days by unexplained failures of the Starlink and Starshield satellite systems that are a crucial tool to protect civilians from incoming Russian missiles and drone attacks. — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026 Sofiia Lavska/Apostrophe/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images Russia's Defense Ministry said, meanwhile, that air defenses downed 808 Ukrainian drones overnight, and that two people were reported injured, The Associated Press reported. — Mark Osborne, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, air defenses intercepted 136 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions overnight, the Defense Ministry said. — ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026 Meanwhile, air defenses intercepted 136 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions overnight, the ministry said. — Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026 For now, the study identifies a previously underappreciated part of the immune system that could help overcome one of SCLC’s most persistent defenses. — New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026 The restriction disrupted operations, including making the slower-flying attack drones easier targets for Russian defenses. — Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026 Tehran is reportedly strengthening its defenses around sensitive energy and nuclear sites in preparation for a potential resumption of attacks, according to The Wall Street Journal. — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defenses

Noun

Some said such an outcome is likely if the industry fails to impose adequate safeguards, while others characterized it as vague and far-fetched.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
When delivery pressure conflicts with material customer or operational risk, security should explain the failure scenario, identify necessary safeguards and help departments choose a practical path forward.

— Manny Khan, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of safeguards

Noun

None of this excuses Chris’ malicious behavior, not just toward Carrie but toward her future stepsister, Brooklyn (Rowan Danielle), and the school as a whole, mostly via a fake Instagram account devoted to smearing students and faculty alike.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
They are held to a standard that doesn't include entitlement, excuses, or any agenda other than TEAM.

— Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of excuses

Noun

The credibility of a company’s European commitments depends on the operating arrangement and protections behind them.

— Margot Edelman, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Florida asked homeowners to accept fewer legal protections as part of the price of stabilizing the insurance market.

— Matthew T. Christ, Sun Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of protections

Noun

Tina was granted a divorce on grounds of cruelty, one of the few legal justifications for divorce in 1903.

— Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Oct. 2026
Well, it’s generally focused on the origins of and justifications for Baldwin’s multi-decade persecution complex.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of justifications

Noun

Dozens of armored cops were still standing guard, shields raised, after a night when 500 people were taken into custody in the French capital alone.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
Swarms of police officers descended from helicopters and beat them with billy clubs and metal shields.

— E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of shields

Noun

Among their reasons for concern is Ohio’s poor track record when women are on the ballot.

— Philip Elliott, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
These tools are primarily used by those who make less than $50,000 according to a 2022 Government Accountability Office report, with food and rent being the key reasons people use the service, one case study of food and restaurant workers found.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of reasons

Noun

In modern nuclear weapons, conventional explosives set off a fission reaction—the splitting of big atoms—whose intensity then ignites a fusion reaction that combines light atoms.

— Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Obituaries for nuclear weapons simply misapprehend the role these arms have played since 1945.

— Eric S. Edelman, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of weapons

Noun

Meanwhile, North Korea has been adding mines, barbed wire fences, tactical roads, anti-tank walls and other fortifications to what's already one of the world's most heavily armed borders.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
From Mojave Ghost to Bal D’Afrique, its scents line the fragrance walls of the industry’s most fabulous faces, practically fly off retailers’s virtual shelves, and admittedly, help set the standard of what an indie brand could be.

— Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026