1
as in supervises
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 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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in manages
to look after and make decisions about
the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026
Rainwater tends to gather along the road edges.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 30 May 2026
Symptoms may vary according to the specific herbicide in use, however, affected foliage tends to bend downward with leaflets cupping or curling.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 29 May 2026
The longevity field, as the people involved in it acknowledge, tends to attract colorful characters with far-out theories.
—Sarah Todd, STAT, 29 May 2026
Though the best blush color varies by individual, Paulina tends to suggest warmer shades for her older clients.
—Jenny Berg, Glamour, 29 May 2026
Spend it deliberately, and the rest of the day tends to follow.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026
What tends to damage relationships is not jealousy itself, but the inability to acknowledge it honestly.
—Meehika Barua, Time, 29 May 2026
There’s no easy benchmark for whether a $5,000 longevity package is actually doing anything, and the marketing language tends to outpace the science.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2026
Verb
Corzo Silver comes from Los Altos, in Jalisco’s red-soil highlands, where agave tends to yield sweeter, more floral distillates.
—Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026
Rainwater tends to gather along the road edges.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 30 May 2026
Symptoms may vary according to the specific herbicide in use, however, affected foliage tends to bend downward with leaflets cupping or curling.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 29 May 2026
The longevity field, as the people involved in it acknowledge, tends to attract colorful characters with far-out theories.
—Sarah Todd, STAT, 29 May 2026
Though the best blush color varies by individual, Paulina tends to suggest warmer shades for her older clients.
—Jenny Berg, Glamour, 29 May 2026
Spend it deliberately, and the rest of the day tends to follow.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026
What tends to damage relationships is not jealousy itself, but the inability to acknowledge it honestly.
—Meehika Barua, Time, 29 May 2026
There’s no easy benchmark for whether a $5,000 longevity package is actually doing anything, and the marketing language tends to outpace the science.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tends
Verb
-
In the 1960s, the antiheroine — who sometimes leans hard into villain territory — was brought to life in the live-action world by Newmar on the Batman TV series opposite Adam West, who played the titular crime fighter.—
Kelsie Gibson,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
-
Cult Beauty’s Sunny Escapes Edit leans heavily into practical vacation beauty rather than fantasy glamour, combining travel-ready staples with prestige makeup and SPF-adjacent utility.—
Kate Hardcastle,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Milshtein previously served as adviser to COGAT, which supervises civilian policy in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
19 May 2026
-
As chief of patrol, Hein supervises the most visible aspects of the Police Department that define its image in the minds of most Chicagoans, including emergency response, crisis intervention, traffic control, routine patrol and community policing efforts.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Details and design reflect that philosophy, from the wood fire burning in reception and the garden where your dinner grows to the private onsen steaming quietly while snow falls just feet away.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 May 2026
-
There is an anticipation of a logjam of players in the coming season or two, as the clock starts ticking on the eligibility of 19-year-olds, and their desperation to join a college roster grows.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Research by Gao, Niu, and Yu published in Frontiers in Psychology found that intellectual humility in leadership cultivates team environments rooted in trust and collaboration, where leaders lean on collective wisdom rather than individual authority.—
Mary Hemphill,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
-
Today, Fingerboard cultivates hemp, a type of cannabis that, unlike marijuana, is nonintoxicating and widely considered a wellness product.—
William Deffaa,
Baltimore Sun,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Shange’s rainbow assemblage manages to be confrontational and conciliatory through a confessional accumulation that collapses poetry, movement, and ritual into a single and ever-changing event.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 May 2026
-
One student, a behavioral neuroscience major, manages two jobs while pursuing a full course load.—
Marvin Krislov,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Top talent watches whether your values show up in the moments that actually cost something.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
-
Not just someone who’s there, who’s a bystander, and who just watches things happen.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
The company also produces compact robots such as the MiniCobo and Mini 2, aimed at education, research, hospitality, and small-scale automation.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
3 June 2026
-
Lisa Mierke also executive produces along with Alex Plapinger and James Merrill, Sean Buckelew and Benjy Brooke for Green Street Pictures, which also serves as the studio.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
See what our founder plants in the shadow of her redwoods.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
29 May 2026
-
Space plants 36 to 48 inches apart, setting two strong transplants on a hill or mound.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
23 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tends. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
