DEFENDING Synonyms: 85 Similar and Opposite Words

defending

verb

present participle of defend

as in protecting

to drive danger or attack away from a solemn oath to defend the mother country at any cost

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in justifying

to continue to declare to be true or proper despite opposition or objections she will pigheadedly defend any claim regardless of all evidence to the contrary

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 defending The Knicks enter the 2026 season this week as defending NBA champions, as any New Yorker in your life would be happy to remind you. — Noah Shachtman, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026 The Administration has invoked national security in defending other projects. — Rebecca Schneid, Time, 20 Oct. 2026 Federal officials announcing the charges and arrests spent most of Monday’s Los Angeles news conference defending their lawsuit and the list of possible noncitizen voters. — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 19 Oct. 2026 Yet since the founding era, the United States has prioritized establishing and defending its own sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere. — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026 The shoe arrived on the market just about three weeks shy of Tuesday night’s NBA season opener, in which Maxey’s team, the new-look Philadelphia 76ers, will take on the defending champions, the New York Knicks, at Madison Square Garden. — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 19 Oct. 2026 The Eagles, two-time defending division champions, are trying to figure out how to win with quarterback Jalen Hurts sidelined for the season by blood clots. — ABC News, 19 Oct. 2026 Although no Republican voted for the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, some Republican lawmakers began defending parts of the law as investments reached their districts. — Kayla Morton, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2026 As an example, Harington pointed to the 2025 Italian Grand Prix in Monza, when Max Verstappen cut a corner while defending his position. — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defending

Verb

Still, research like this hints at where oral health could be headed, moving away from simply protecting or replacing damaged tissue and toward materials designed to help rebuild tooth enamel instead.

— Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Oct. 2026
That’s because the rocket aims for full reusability, with a novel upper stage thruster design and heat shield to solve the difficult problem of protecting a vehicle reentering at orbital velocity.

— Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of protecting

Verb

But Lewis said justifying camera movements through human mannerisms and tics also made the drone the episode’s poignant exhale.

— Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 13 Oct. 2026
The frontier lab’s figures are seen as key to understanding underlying demand for cutting-edge AI models, as well as justifying the huge global spending on tech infrastructure.

— Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of justifying

Verb

The government pressured chipmakers to reprioritize order fulfillment, safeguarding the birthright of Americans to buy new trucks.

— Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
The book-length teaching, released in May, focuses on safeguarding the human person in the age of AI.

— Sasha Tuddenham, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of safeguarding

Verb

By the looks of it, not much of the budget is going to maintaining what should be the bright lights of college football in New England – the Rent.

— Eric Womack, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
The single-cell results provide a basis for further development toward larger electrolyzer systems, where reducing precious metal requirements and maintaining durability remain key goals.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of maintaining

Verb

The most direct tribute to Tippett came in the battle against two giant droids guarding an overlord’s chamber.

— Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
Their day jobs are with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a specialized force tasked with guarding the peaks and passes of India’s 2,167-mile (3,488-kilometer) long Himalayan border with China.

— Helen Regan, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of guarding

Verb

In April, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion upholding an arbitrator’s findings that the union may follow the card-signing process as a path to represent the workers.

— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Rubio visited Portugal a day after delivering a speech in the Greek capital, Athens, urging European countries to save Western civilization by upholding the values and traditions of ancient Greece.

— Matthew Lee, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of upholding

Verb

The argument supporting Measure Z was signed by farmer Blair Voelz, educator Karen Rosenkilde Bayne, former Woodland City Manager Kris Kristensen, business leader Aniek Pflager and agricultural supplier Erik Wilson.

— Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Following the meeting, Papin’s office said the state was committed to supporting businesses and that further measures would be announced shortly.

— Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of supporting

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“Defending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defending. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of defending

verb

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