TENDS Synonyms: 101 Similar and Opposite Words

tends 1 of 2

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of tend

as in leans

to show a liking or proneness (for something) her wardrobe tends toward dark colors and heavy fabrics

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tends

2 of 2

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of tend

as in supervises

to take charge of especially on behalf of another tend the store while I run an errand

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in grows

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

as in cultivates

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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as in manages

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

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 tends

Verb

But as ever, iPhone battery life tends to vary dramatically for everyone, and change a lot over time. — Nilay Patel, The Verge, 21 Oct. 2026 America’s public health communication, which tends to tell and not teach, has failed. — Raj Panjabi, STAT, 21 Oct. 2026 The Folsom end of the Sacramento region tends to see higher-than-normal wages and generally a good quality of life, said Greater Sacramento Economic Council President and CEO Barry Broome. — Sacbee.com, 21 Oct. 2026 France is a highly centralized country, so what tends to happen in place of legislative incrementalism is people taking to the streets to be heard and to object. — Caroline Mimbs Nyce, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026 In John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden, the man who tends to the Trask household, raises its young boys, and serves as Adam’s decadeslong companion is usually described with his looks. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026 Operating within the confines of her old-school loom, Contro tends toward plain weaves and twills, preferring the look, feel, and drape of those simple structures. — Hannah Martin, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2026 In my experience as a founder and CEO, when HR teams are buried under procedural noise and compliance overhead, strategic talent development tends to evaporate. — Syed Ahmad, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026 What Paltrow and other Hollywood stars put on camera tends to foreshadow what the mass wellness market tries to sell next. — Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tends

Verb

At one point, a man is seen lying on top of an airboat as another man leans over him.

— Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
For men and older adults, the heart-health signal from the Nature cohort leans harder in this direction.

— Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of leans

Verb

Request the treating physician’s name and qualifications, then ask who performs each stage and how the physician supervises the team.

— Kaitlyn Gomez, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
Frot-Coutaz also supervises Sky Studios Elstree, Sky’s state-of-the-art film and TV studio, plus Sky Studios’ global portfolio of production companies that includes Blast!

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of supervises

Verb

The season finale brings the various strands of the story together elegantly and a bit pitilessly, too, as the body count continues to rise and the struggle for survival grows genuinely desperate.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
As awareness grows, expect more aggressive marketing of IPL and prescription drops directly to midlife women, and expect insurers to face pressure to clarify coverage.

— Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of grows

Verb

In the sweeping farmlands near the Central Coast, a seed supplier that cultivates peppers, vegetables and fruit was hit with more than two dozen pesticide safety violations, some of them serious offenses that caused health or environmental hazards.

— Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Like all classic noirs, Frank cultivates a sweaty, visceral realism to the main character’s desire to have a better life at any cost.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of cultivates

Verb

American Transmission Company, a utility firm that develops and manages high-voltage transmission lines, has seen rapid growth, in part thanks to the AI and data center buildout.

— Ted Kitterman, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
The firm manages the cable’s arrival on France’s Atlantic coast and integrates it into Europe’s terrestrial network.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of manages

Verb

Searching for Wendy in the depths of the Sephora store, Stan watches his surroundings shift from slightly off, to off, to get-me-the-hell-out-of-here off.

— Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
Michael Che watches The Sopranos about four to five times a year, all the way through.

— Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of watches

Verb

Almost none has completed the reorganization that produces the compounding gains on the other side.

— Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Huntington’s is the result of a three-letter repeat, and researchers have spent years attempting to lower the levels of the RNA and protein this gene produces.

— Anil Oza, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of produces

Verb

Once Mooney plants the seed of his joke about how unhappy white Americans seemed after slavery the later images of Confederate memorial groups and white crowds at lynchings take on a surreal resonance.

— Beandrea July, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Mungiu craftily plants the seed of this crisis in his opening shot, set in the aftermath of a stinging act of parental discipline.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026