protested

verb

past tense of protest
1
as in insisted
to state as a fact usually forcefully he protested that he usually was very good at baseball, and all the strikeouts were just bad luck

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in objected
to present an opposing opinion or argument plans to protest against the judge's ruling regarding admissible evidence

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 protested Residents have fiercely protested against the deployment of Flock cameras, overrunning town meetings. — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 9 July 2026 Earlier this year students from Emory University protested the use of the cameras on campus and in Atlanta. — Irene Wright, USA Today, 8 July 2026 Parents flooded school board meetings and protested outside City Hall. — Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 8 July 2026 Australia, Japan, and New Zealand all nevertheless protested the test. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 6 July 2026 Through his music, Guthrie protested inequality and championed social justice, helping define the role of folk music as a vehicle for change. — Steve Appleford, Rolling Stone, 4 July 2026 The center was scheduled to open in late May but was blocked by a Kenyan high court after locals protested. — Alice Park, Time, 2 July 2026 The additional time and expense are among the reasons state workers have protested the change. — Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026 The Hanna’s Town Resolves, a document signed along Forbes Road in 1775 by citizens of Westmoreland County, protested the injustices of the British Parliament. — Salena Zito, Washington Post, 1 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for protested
  1. insisted
  2. objected
  3. alleged
  4. complained
  5. claimed
  6. asserted
  7. contended
  8. declared
Verb
  • Her multi-show stint for the Renaissance tour was meant to be for only one night; however, after reading some negative comments about her first performance, the then-11-year-old insisted on trying again.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 11 July 2026
  • However, Iran has insisted its theocracy is unified after the war under the country’s new supreme leader.
    — Jon Gambrell, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2026
Definition of insisted
Verb
  • Prosecutors sought to play the interview in court, but defense attorneys strongly objected, saying that news media cameras in the courtroom would broadcast the contents to the world and therefore compromise Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 9 July 2026
  • Defense attorney Kathryn Nester repeatedly objected to evidence introduced by prosecutors.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 July 2026
Definition of objected
Verb
  • Gray alleged a litany of corruption violations, including claims that Haggerty double-billed the county for travel expenses and misused public resources.
    — Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 6 July 2026
  • Alberto Fujimori of Peru must face Alejandro Toledo in a runoff election; Toledo’s supporters had alleged electoral fraud.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 July 2026
Definition of alleged
Verb
  • Before it was knocked out, Iran's team had complained about unfair treatment in the World Cup.
    — Jamie Gray, NBC news, 9 July 2026
  • The pickup’s driver complained of pain after the collision and was arrested by CHP officers at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence, said CHP officials.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of complained
Verb
  • Attorneys for the owners of the landfill, which stopped accepting trash last year, claimed this spring in the litigation that the lawsuits may be tainted by fraud.
    — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026
  • The lefty reliever whom the Cubs claimed off waivers in January is now one of the club’s success stories.
    — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 12 July 2026
Definition of claimed
Verb
  • In the period that elapsed between the shooting and when police officers searched Langs’ car, there was time for a gun to disappear, Lowthorp asserted.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 July 2026
  • Education advocates have asserted that California schools are legally entitled to billions more under state law.
    — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026
Definition of asserted
Verb
  • Consumer Watchdog contended in its lawsuit that the surcharges violated Proposition 103 — the 1988 measure that governs insurer rate hikes — because the proposition does not allow for them.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
  • Responding to public criticism, Justice Samuel Alito contended that the court isn’t to blame for the rise in shadow docket cases.
    — Ken B. Morales, ProPublica, 1 July 2026
Definition of contended
Verb
  • The jury deliberated for about six hours on Monday and eight hours on Tuesday before the mistrial was declared.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 July 2026
  • The driver of Ballard’s car was declared dead after they were brought to a hospital, and the passenger later died from their injuries, police said.
    — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 7 July 2026
Definition of declared

Browse Nearby Words

protestations
protested
protester
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Protested.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/protested. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on protested

Nglish: Translation of protested for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fulcrum

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All