wards 1 of 2

noun

plural of ward
1
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
2
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
More recently, a rolling cast of content creators has taken to making day trips to Blackpool’s roughest wards to capitalize on the environs of its impoverished communities. — George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 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 The next day, a judge ruled that Robby and Michael should be considered wards of the state and sent them to an orphanage. — Amy Weiss-Meyer, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wards
  1. defenses
  2. care
  3. protects
  4. safeguards
  5. hands
  6. guards
  7. shields
  8. trusts
Noun
  • The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday its air defenses overnight intercepted 553 Ukrainian drones over 18 Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea and the waters of the Azov and the Black seas.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The trouble starts when saliva gets past the body’s defenses—through a bite or into an open cut, for example.
    — Angela Haupt, Time, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of defenses
Noun
  • Modi would be housed in a specific section of Arthur Road Jail and would have access to specialist treatment, Indian authorities said, including care from a private doctor or mental health expert of his choice.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 9 Aug. 2026
  • The sisters now both receive care at the Cleveland Clinic and have participated in clinical trials while also working to raise awareness about the disease.
    — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of care
Verb
  • The Constitution protects defendants from being prosecuted for the same crime twice, but Mangione's dueling state and federal cases fall into one of the exceptions for double jeopardy.
    — Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Name the goal, keep the message specific, and choose the tone that protects both respect and clarity without closing the door.
    — Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of protects
Noun
  • The new safeguards include requiring law enforcement to label every search with a with a criminal case number, and instituting an automatic review for abnormal search activities, which will trigger proactive lockouts for those users.
    — Soo Youn, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Other residents still fear these changes will push the community out if the city does not adopt additional safeguards.
    — Gabriela Vidal, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of safeguards
Noun
  • Barron, last year’s first-round pick, nearly had a second interception minutes later, but the ball squirted through his hands.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026
  • On the flight after the impromptu stop, Yeltsin sat motionless with his head in his hands, considering the bare shelves of Soviet food markets.
    — Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of hands
Verb
  • Shrine guards flick sticks with ostrich feathers at female pilgrims lingering too long in the shade to try to keep the flow of people moving.
    — Jane Arraf, NPR, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The caterpillar even guards the wasp’s cocoons before eventually dying.
    — Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of guards
Noun
  • Ornamental shields and coats of arms are decorated with castles, crosses, lions, flags, and crowns.
    — Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The exemption shields bargained rules related to wages, hours and other working conditions from antitrust scrutiny.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of shields
Noun
  • Chips need physical space to operate, and that’s where real estate investment trusts, or REITs, step in.
    — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Remove accounts your child does not recognize or no longer trusts.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of trusts

Browse Nearby Words

wardrobes
wards
wards (off)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wards.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wards. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on wards

Nglish: Translation of wards for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All