FENDED Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

fended

verb

past tense of fend

as in defended

to drive danger or attack away from learned to use humor to fend herself from criticism

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 fended While his mom was in prison, Young and his older brother, Robert, mostly fended for themselves, often in a home that lacked electricity and running water. — Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2026 Most of the refugees from the region fended for themselves in shanty towns around Baku, despised by the urbanites even as their plight was weaponized. — Literary Hub, 30 July 2026 Alternatively, the young might have fended for themselves, similar to lizards. — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 9 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fended

Verb

The Justice Department has defended its track record in court and accused judges of overstepping their authority.

— NPR Staff, NPR, 8 Aug. 2026
In the face of the data center backlash, Pritzker defended his rollback of tax incentives at the Aspen Ideas climate conference in Chicago on July 21, according to a New York Times report.

— John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of defended

Verb

These places are very little in Europe nowadays, and most of them are protected because there are rare plants or rare elements or rare animals.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Aug. 2026
If that were to happen, a barrage of investigations could follow and may expand the number of individuals potentially protected from future testimony or investigation.

— Jacob Rosen, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of protected

Verb

In a country running above-target inflation, importing all its energy and watching its government spend tens of billions propping up the currency, most households owned none of the one thing that would have shielded them.

— Frank Holmes, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Risks of inflation and long-term vulnerability For now, rising oil and gas production and refinery output in the United States has shielded Americans from significant petroleum shortages.

— Amy Myers Jaffe, The Conversation, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of shielded

Verb

He’s been closely guarded and closed off from the world since, as Russia has sought to secure a relationship with the new regime led by President Ahmed al Sharaa.

— Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 11 Aug. 2026
Minamoto Yoshitsune was a strategist who went to hell and took it over, defeating the Oni who guarded hell.

— Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026