as in to protect
to drive danger or attack away from
a place of refuge where the settlers could forfend themselves from attack
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Recent Examples of forfend
What’s non-negotiable is that it must be made using a kettle, never — heaven forfend — a microwave.
—
Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 15 Mar. 2025
For people who spend too much time debating politics or surfing the internet -- or, heaven forfend, doing both at the same time -- engagement with the real world can present something of a ...
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 23 May 2024
In the United States, instead of building more houses inside the old circle (or, heaven forfend, even closer together and near the places people go), people have built houses even further away.
—Adam Rogers, Wired, 30 Dec. 2021
But is Twitter outrage (or, heaven forfend, praise) a useful metric for audience engagement?
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 27 May 2021
Heaven forfend!
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 3 July 2020
And of course the president says oh, my gosh, heaven forfend that poor Omarosa would have to go.
—Fox News, 14 Aug. 2018
Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 15 Mar. 2025
For people who spend too much time debating politics or surfing the internet -- or, heaven forfend, doing both at the same time -- engagement with the real world can present something of a ...
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 23 May 2024
In the United States, instead of building more houses inside the old circle (or, heaven forfend, even closer together and near the places people go), people have built houses even further away.
—Adam Rogers, Wired, 30 Dec. 2021
But is Twitter outrage (or, heaven forfend, praise) a useful metric for audience engagement?
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 27 May 2021
Heaven forfend!
—Ron Charles, Washington Post, 3 July 2020
And of course the president says oh, my gosh, heaven forfend that poor Omarosa would have to go.
—Fox News, 14 Aug. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forfend
Verb
-
Uthmeier has also argued that the government has a duty to protect children who didn’t have a say in not being raised by both biological parents.—
Ann Marie Luft,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
-
The Administration’s lawyer, James Powers, argued that the Warrington guidance would protect the groups’ interest in insuring that records remain available.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Trump nominates Cameron Hamilton to lead FEMA, a surprising comeback after the former Navy SEAL was fired last May for defending the agency’s existence amid calls to dismantle it.—
Gabriela Aoun Angueira,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
-
And next Monday, the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers will come to Petco Park.—
Dennis Lin,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
While court orders that block counterfeiters can help to safeguard intellectual property, sometimes those counterfeiters simply turn to other aliases and cybersquatting ploys to continue their activities.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
14 May 2026
-
Newsom is eager to safeguard programs that have defined his tenure as the leader of the nation's most populous state and one of the world's largest economies.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
But its relative youth and iconic mascot have not shielded the brand from many of the same issues dogging the company’s older brands, such as Maxwell House and Philadelphia.—
Amelia Lucas,
CNBC,
13 May 2026
-
Then came the Methodists, seeking a utopia shielded from the excesses of the Roaring Twenties.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
Verb
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And by the turn of the twenty-first century, most of those tiny bungalows had been replaced by sprawling estates—fortresses for the entertainment elite, where Oscar trophies adorned mantels and wealth guarded from disaster.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
-
These moved beyond the bland and laudatory, offering candid and penetrating portraits of artists and celebrities that stand out in an era where A-listers are guarded by armies of publicists and handlers.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forfend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forfend. Accessed 16 May. 2026.
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