Adjacent Words

Defend definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DEFEND, v.t.
1. To drive from; to thrust back; hence, to deny; to repel a demand, charge, or accusation; to oppose; to resist; the effect of which is to maintain ones own claims.
2. To forbid; to prohibit; that is, to drive from, or back. Milton calls the forbidden fruit, the defended fruit.
The use of wine in some places is defended by customs or laws.
3. To drive back a foe or danger; to repel from any thing that which assails or annoys; to protect by opposition or resistance; to support or maintain; to prevent from being injured, or destroyed.
There arose, to defend Israel, Tola the son of Puah. Judges 10.
4. To vindicate; to assert; to uphold; to maintain uninjured, by force or by argument; as, to defend our cause; to defend rights and privileges; to defend reputation.
5. To secure against attacks or evil; to fortify against danger or violence; to set obstacles to the approach of any thing that can annoy. A garden may be defended by a wall, a hill or a river.
DEFEND, v.i. To make opposition; as, the party comes into court, defends and says.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: argue or speak in defense of; "She supported the motion to strike" [syn: defend, support, fend for]
2: be on the defensive; act against an attack [ant: assail, attack]
3: protect against a challenge or attack; "Hold that position behind the trees!"; "Hold the bridge against the enemy's attacks" [syn: defend, guard, hold]
4: fight against or resist strongly; "The senator said he would oppose the bill"; "Don't fight it!" [syn: fight, oppose, fight back, fight down, defend]
5: protect or fight for as a champion [syn: champion, defend]
6: be the defense counsel for someone in a trial; "Ms. Smith will represent the defendant" [syn: defend, represent] [ant: prosecute]
7: state or assert; "He maintained his innocence" [syn: maintain, defend]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French defendre, from Latin defendere, from de- + -fendere to strike; akin to Old English g?th battle, war, Greek theinein to strike Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to drive danger or attack away from <defend our shores> b. (1) to maintain or support in the face of argument or hostile criticism <defend a theory> (2) to prove (as a doctoral thesis) valid by answering questions in an oral exam c. to attempt to prevent an opponent from scoring at <elects to defend the south goal> 2. archaic prevent, forbid 3. to act as attorney for 4. to deny or oppose the right of a plaintiff in regard to (a suit or a wrong charged) ; contest 5. to retain or seek to retain (as a title or position) against a challenge in a contest <they successfully defended their championship> intransitive verb 1. to take action against attack or challenge 2. to play or be on defense <playing deep to defend against a pass> 3. to play against the high bidder in a card game • defendable adjective Synonyms: defend, protect, shield, guard, safeguard mean to keep secure from danger or against attack. defend denotes warding off actual or threatened attack <defend the country>. protect implies the use of something (as a covering) as a bar to the admission or impact of what may attack or injure <a hard hat to protect your head>. shield suggests protective intervention in imminent danger or actual attack <shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand>. guard implies protecting with vigilance and force against expected danger <White House entrances are well guarded>. safeguard implies taking precautionary protective measures against merely possible danger <our civil liberties must be safeguarded>. Synonym: see in addition maintain.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (also absol.) 1 (often foll. by against, from) resist an attack made on; protect (a person or thing) from harm or danger. 2 support or uphold by argument; speak or write in favour of. 3 conduct the case for (a defendant in a lawsuit). Derivatives: defendable adj. defender n. Etymology: ME f. OF defendre f. L defendere: cf. OFFEND

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Defend De*fend", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defended; p. pr. & vb. n. Defending.] [F. d['e]fendre, L. defendere; de- + fendere (only in comp.) to strike; perh. akin to Gr. ? to strike, and E. dint. Cf. Dint, Defense, Fend.] 1. To ward or fend off; to drive back or away; to repel. [A Latinism & Obs.] Th' other strove for to defend The force of Vulcan with his might and main. --Spenser. 2. To prohibit; to forbid. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Which God defend that I should wring from him. --Shak.  3. To repel danger or harm from; to protect; to secure against; attack; to maintain against force or argument; to uphold; to guard; as, to defend a town; to defend a cause; to defend character; to defend the absent; -- sometimes followed by from or against; as, to defend one's self from, or against, one's enemies. The lord mayor craves aid . . . to defend the city. --Shak. God defend the right! --Shak. A village near it was defended by the river. --Clarendon. 4. (Law.) To deny the right of the plaintiff in regard to (the suit, or the wrong charged); to oppose or resist, as a claim at law; to contest, as a suit. --Burrill. Syn: To Defend, Protect. Usage: To defend is literally to ward off; to protect is to cover so as to secure against approaching danger. We defend those who are attacked; we protect those who are liable to injury or invasion. A fortress is defended by its guns, and protected by its wall. As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it. --Is. xxxi. 5. Leave not the faithful side That gave thee being, still shades thee and protects. --Milton.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(defends, defending, defended) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you defend someone or something, you take action in order to protect them. His courage in defending religious and civil rights inspired many outside the church... ? attack VERB: V n 2. If you defend someone or something when they have been criticized, you argue in support of them. Matt defended all of Clarence's decisions, right or wrong... ? attack VERB: V n 3. When a lawyer defends a person who has been accused of something, the lawyer argues on their behalf in a court of law that the charges are not true. ...a lawyer who defended political prisoners during the military regime... He has hired a lawyer to defend him against the allegations... Guy Powell, defending, told magistrates: 'It's a sad and disturbing case.' VERB: V n, V n against n, V 4. When a sports player plays in the tournament which they won the previous time it was held, you can say that they are defending their title. (JOURNALISM) Torrence expects to defend her title successfully in the next Olympics... VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Guard, shield, secure from danger, secure from attack. See protect. 2. Vindicate, assert, maintain, uphold, justify, espouse, plead.

Moby Thesaurus

account, advocate, air, allege in support, answer, argue, argue for, arm, armor, assert, avert, back, battle, bless, bulwark, champion, claim, cloak, compass about, conserve, contend, contend for, copyright, counter, cover, cushion, ensure, espouse, explain, express, fence, fend, fend off, fight, fight for, flank, fortify, guarantee, guard, guard against, harbor, haven, insure, justify, keep, keep from harm, keep safe, maintain, make a plea, make safe, nestle, oppose, parry, patent, plead for, police, preserve, prevent, protect, rationalize, rebut, refute, register, reply, resist, respond, ride shotgun for, riposte, safeguard, save, say in defense, screen, secure, shelter, shield, shroud, speak for, speak up for, stand by, stand up for, stick up for, support, sustain, underwrite, uphold, urge reasons for, utter, vent, vindicate, voice, war, ward, ward off, warrant, watch over, withstand