as in defended
to drive danger or attack away from
learned to use humor to fend herself from criticism
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fended
Verb
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Government officials have defended officers’ actions as necessary and justified, while giving misleading or false accounts of some clashes.—
Natasha Korecki,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026 -
As protests have mounted in major cities in recent months in response to ICE actions, White House officials have defended their immigration record.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As a child, Sky Roberts remembers how his big sister Virginia protected him.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
21 Feb. 2026
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The Wizards hope that an early lottery pick will join that nucleus this offseason, but the team owes a top-eight protected 2026 first-round pick to the New York Knicks.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But in the 1960s, the Scandinavian nation scrapped the program under pressure from the United States, whose nuclear arsenal has shielded Europe for about 80 years.—
Isaac Stanley-Becker,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026
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Her makeup was, for the most part, shielded by her sunglasses, leaving only her brown and nude lip to shine.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Both public parks and private allotments served as compensation for a long process of enclosing public commons to make the urban and rural landscapes of today, in which territories are divided, fenced, and often guarded.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
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He’s guarded some of the best players in the league.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
18 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Fended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fended. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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