as in protecting
to drive danger or attack away from
learned to use humor to fend herself from criticism
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Recent Examples of fending
The footage showcases William Franklyn-Mille in the role of Washington, fighting through intense battles in the French and Indian War and fending for himself in tense military meetings.
—
J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
Fighting off predators, fending for food, and living in rugged terrain with harsh conditions – this was not a means of living for the weak.
—Aly Walansky, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Lithuania is fending without Domantas Sabonis, Matas Buzelis, and Kasparas Jakucionas this summer, leaving Denver backup center Jonas Valanciunas as the centerpiece of the roster.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 22 Aug. 2025
J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025
Fighting off predators, fending for food, and living in rugged terrain with harsh conditions – this was not a means of living for the weak.
—Aly Walansky, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Lithuania is fending without Domantas Sabonis, Matas Buzelis, and Kasparas Jakucionas this summer, leaving Denver backup center Jonas Valanciunas as the centerpiece of the roster.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 22 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fending
Verb
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Gray was an advocate for protecting the dunes, even writing op-eds in local newspapers.—
Graham Averill,
Outside,
28 Oct. 2025
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First, women have higher estrogen levels than men, and before menopause, estrogen may be protecting cardiovascular health—which in part may explain why women tend to develop heart events at later ages than men.—
Alice Park,
Time,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The former president has bristled at the suggestion that his administration abused the autopen, defending himself in a July 13 New York Times interview.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
28 Oct. 2025
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On Monday night when the Mavs hosted the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder at the American Airlines Center, his age showed.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Vessel-tracking data suggests the Harmony network forms an arc stretching from Murmansk eastward to Novaya Zemlya and north to Franz Josef Land, effectively a tripwire guarding the Northern Fleet’s principal bases.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Oct. 2025
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According to the Anti-Deformation League the Totenkopf was adopted by the SS and was particularly associated with the SS-Totenkopfverbande, which was responsible for guarding concentration camps.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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These treatments aim to create a renewable source of beta cells or to help maintain existing beta cells by shielding them from the immune system or enabling them to evade it.—
Tara Haelle,
Scientific American,
14 Oct. 2025
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The court noted that about half of states have laws shielding a person exercising lawful self-defense from criminal liability for the death of an innocent bystander.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Raine family’s lawsuit is one of at least three against AI companies accused of insufficiently safeguarding minors in their use of AI chatbots.—
Nikita Ostrovsky,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
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Baqué’s work stayed hidden for almost 40 years following his death, with his niece safeguarding the art.—
Jaden Thompson,
Footwear News,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fending. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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