1
as in watched
to take charge of especially on behalf of another
tend the store while I run an errand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grew
to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care
lately I haven't been doing a good job of tending my garden
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in cultivated
to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on
plots that during the war were tended by city dwellers as vegetable gardens
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4
as in managed
to look after and make decisions about
the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tended
Lindsay Curtis, Verywell Health, 25 Feb. 2026
When Joe Biden was in office, preparing to give his final State of the Union address, Republicans tended to use more negative terms than Democrats.
—Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026
Crowds watched on anxiously as teammates Daniel Bertschler, Sebastian Mitterer, and Daiyehan Nichols-Bardi were seen exiting the sled unharmed, but medics tended to Mandlbauer for a further ten minutes before the competition resumed.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 21 Feb. 2026
Despite that fact that almost as many cats contract cancer during their lifetime as dogs do, research into cancers that affect our pets has tended to focus more on dogs than cats.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 19 Feb. 2026
There are also coops on the property for about 19 chickens and a handful of quail also tended by students.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 19 Feb. 2026
Most other human histories have tended to concentrate on the finer aspects of the mind and the rise of culture.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
As for why the vote in congressional races has tended to shift in Democrats’ favor, there’s a simple, non-diabolical explanation.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026
The country has struggled with structural joblessness in the past, but the problem has tended to afflict blue-collar workers, not white-collar ones.
—Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2026
Verb
People who ate more vitamin B1-rich foods tended to have more frequent bowel movements.
—Lindsay Curtis, Verywell Health, 25 Feb. 2026
When Joe Biden was in office, preparing to give his final State of the Union address, Republicans tended to use more negative terms than Democrats.
—Anthony Salvanto, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026
Crowds watched on anxiously as teammates Daniel Bertschler, Sebastian Mitterer, and Daiyehan Nichols-Bardi were seen exiting the sled unharmed, but medics tended to Mandlbauer for a further ten minutes before the competition resumed.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 21 Feb. 2026
Despite that fact that almost as many cats contract cancer during their lifetime as dogs do, research into cancers that affect our pets has tended to focus more on dogs than cats.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 19 Feb. 2026
There are also coops on the property for about 19 chickens and a handful of quail also tended by students.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 19 Feb. 2026
Most other human histories have tended to concentrate on the finer aspects of the mind and the rise of culture.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
As for why the vote in congressional races has tended to shift in Democrats’ favor, there’s a simple, non-diabolical explanation.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 18 Feb. 2026
The country has struggled with structural joblessness in the past, but the problem has tended to afflict blue-collar workers, not white-collar ones.
—Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tended.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tended. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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