TENDS Synonyms: 101 Similar and Opposite Words

tends 1 of 2

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of tend

as in leans

to show a liking or proneness (for something) her wardrobe tends toward dark colors and heavy fabrics

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tends

2 of 2

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of tend

as in supervises

to take charge of especially on behalf of another tend the store while I run an errand

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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

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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

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as in manages

to look after and make decisions about the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone

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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 tends

Verb

Yet medicine tends to frame conditions affecting the brain across the lifespan, from autism and ADHD to Alzheimer’s disease, as primarily genetic or social in origin. — Holly Baines, STAT, 14 Oct. 2026 Returning the sarcasm tends to cause the same problem, with two people annoyed instead of one. — Angela Haupt, Time, 14 Oct. 2026 Even though the libero position tends to get overlooked, Calle loves playing there. — Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026 But, as tends to be the case with these sorts of things, the details are what separate the boxy 4×4 from the rest of its peers. — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 14 Oct. 2026 High-profile essays like hers are reframing lobular carcinoma from clinical footnote to mainstream concern, and that reframing tends to drive demand for supplemental screening. — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026 Peters said the Huntington Beach area tends to see more sharks in the fall and spring due to migratory patterns. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026 Since diesel is used to transport a broad range of goods as well as to harvest crops, its rising cost tends to trickle throughout the economy, boosting prices. — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026 Getting your money out of bet365 tends to be more difficult than other apps with strict verification. — Outkick, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tends

Verb

At one point, a man is seen lying on top of an airboat as another man leans over him.

— Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
For men and older adults, the heart-health signal from the Nature cohort leans harder in this direction.

— Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of leans

Verb

Request the treating physician’s name and qualifications, then ask who performs each stage and how the physician supervises the team.

— Kaitlyn Gomez, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
Frot-Coutaz also supervises Sky Studios Elstree, Sky’s state-of-the-art film and TV studio, plus Sky Studios’ global portfolio of production companies that includes Blast!

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of supervises

Verb

In the sweeping farmlands near the Central Coast, a seed supplier that cultivates peppers, vegetables and fruit was hit with more than two dozen pesticide safety violations, some of them serious offenses that caused health or environmental hazards.

— Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Like all classic noirs, Frank cultivates a sweaty, visceral realism to the main character’s desire to have a better life at any cost.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of cultivates

Verb

Mousquetaires Group, which runs the Intermarche chain, has indicated that a Danish company, Danfoss, manages the affected refrigerators.

— Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
Fox Entertainment Global holds domestic distribution rights to Baywatch and Fremantle manages all international sales.

— Max Goldbart, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of manages

Verb

Searching for Wendy in the depths of the Sephora store, Stan watches his surroundings shift from slightly off, to off, to get-me-the-hell-out-of-here off.

— Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2026
Michael Che watches The Sopranos about four to five times a year, all the way through.

— Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of watches

Verb

The brand sources and then produces chocolate right at the source in Madagascar and Uganda, partnering with Direct Trade farmers.

— Kate Kassin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026
Dori Media, which produces film and TV out of Tel Aviv, Zurich and Buenos Aires, was approached by representatives for Sphereorigin about working together on a film.

— Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of produces

Verb

Once Mooney plants the seed of his joke about how unhappy white Americans seemed after slavery the later images of Confederate memorial groups and white crowds at lynchings take on a surreal resonance.

— Beandrea July, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Mungiu craftily plants the seed of this crisis in his opening shot, set in the aftermath of a stinging act of parental discipline.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026