WARDS Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

wards 1 of 2

noun

plural of ward

as in defenses

means or method of defending frequent hand washing is an oft-recommended ward against the spread of common germs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in custodies

responsibility for the safety and well-being of someone or something gained the ward of his cousin upon the death of her parents

Synonyms & Similar Words

wards

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of ward

as in protects

to drive danger or attack away from vowed that he would take whatever measures were necessary to ward the nation's people

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 wards

Noun

That has changed quietly, with robots now performing important roles in operating rooms, hospital wards, rehabilitation centers, and corridors around the world. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026 Nurses are fainting on the wards, children are flopping onto their desks at school. — Cressida Leyshon, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 Hospitals are also closing labor and maternity wards — nearly 60 wards have closed since 2012, according to CalMatters. — Tania Azhang, Sacbee.com, 11 Aug. 2026 And more than 500 hospitals closed maternity wards between 2010 and 2022, according to a study published in the medical research journal JAMA. — Kristin Wright, NPR, 11 Aug. 2026 That applies to organisations such as cafes, leisure centres, gyms and hairdressers, as well as public toilets, local sports clubs with at least 25 members, hospital wards, domestic violence shelters and rape-crisis shelters. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 6 Aug. 2026 Held the first Tuesday each August, this year’s celebration in Aurora included block parties and gatherings of police, fire and emergency vehicles at 24 different community events across all of the city’s 10 wards. — David Sharos, Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2026 Health workers warn the crisis could delay surgeries requiring transfusions and paralyze maternity wards. — Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 29 July 2026 These immigrants, mostly undocumented, are blamed for rampant crime, taking jobs and overrunning hospital wards and places in government schools. — Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 26 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wards

Noun

Last season, according to TruMedia, defenses were in nickel or dime packages — five or six defensive backs — on close to 70 percent of snaps.

— Daniel Popper, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Adversaries may soon be able to fly drones in coordinated swarms using AI, effectively overwhelming any defenses.

— Seth G. Jones, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of defenses

Noun

Flowers like geraniums, coleus, and lavender are easy to propagate and maintain with proper care indoors.

— Alexandra Jones, The Spruce, 30 Aug. 2026
Slate chips replace the usual bark or mulch, and layered plantings, custom window boxes and a medallion set into the rear of the fireplace show the same level of care found indoors.

— David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of care

Verb

The feline panleukopenia vaccination also protects cats against two other common viruses — feline herpesvirus and feline calicivirus.

— Amaia Gavica, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026
Florsheim’s argument has centered on Wisconsin’s Public Trust Doctrine, which protects public rights in navigable waters and the land beneath them.

— Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of protects

Noun

The incident, along with subsequent episodes disclosed by Anthropic and Meta, sparked an industry-wide push to slow development of frontier AI models to improve safeguards keeping autonomous agents under human control.

— Corbin Bolies, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026
My daughter is what those statistics look like when government safeguards fail.

— Nicole Russell, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of safeguards

Noun

Now, to the handwashing shortcomings, such as a cashier handling customer’s payment, then preparing drinks and serving plates of food to customers without washing hands (cash and payment cards tend to be germ motherships).

— David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
But as the years passed and the historic farm in Gladstone underwent expansions and ownership changes, eventually landing in the hands of the city, it was transformed into a historical landmark and museum.

— Jenna Ebbers, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of hands

Verb

Anthropic closely guards its training data sources, but music publishers think the court should require more transparency.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026
Liberty guards Marine Johannes and Pauline Astier are both looking forward to the opportunity to represent France during the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup tournament.

— Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of guards

Noun

Drops railway temperatures To prevent high-speed aerodynamic forces from ripping the heat shields off, researchers secured the magnetic strips with dual mechanical fasteners.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
Protective, almost — which makes sense, as its stunning chandeliers are designed to look like the shields and spears of African Masai warriors.

— Amy Drew Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Aug. 2026