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

Relevance

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

The centerpiece of the policy originally was his use of a 1977 law to declare America's longstanding trade deficits a national emergency, justifying double-digit tariffs on almost every country on Earth.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Advocacy groups are fighting to unseal the OLC’s memo justifying the deadly boat strikes in international waters.

— Perry Stein, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of justifying

Verb

On the other hand, automation can optimize the return on human capital if it is used to eliminate low-value tasks while safeguarding the organization’s long-term human innovative capacity.

— Syed Ahmad, Forbes.com, 20 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of safeguarding

Verb

Cooper has led wire-to-wire over Republican opponent Michael Whatley, maintaining wide polling and fundraising leads and forcing key GOP super PACs to pause spending in the race to focus elsewhere.

— Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 26 Oct. 2026
While not unprecedented for a robot, what makes this feat interesting is that the robot achieved this using its legs while maintaining balance.

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 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

Courts, however, have ruled otherwise, upholding both Sullivans’ spots on the ballot.

— Michael Kunzelman, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
By contrast, the CJP considers peaceful protest, along with upholding the country’s constitution, essential elements of democracy.

— Amrita Basu, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of upholding

Verb

With roaring support from a packed crowd, Macklemore launched his Free Palestine Tour in Ireland’s capital Monday, just over a month after he was controversially dropped as Ed Sheeran’s supporting act.

— Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2026
Attorneys general from 39 states and the District of Columbia have filed an amicus brief supporting New Jersey’s case against Kalshi.

— Josh Appel, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of supporting

Browse Nearby Words

defenders

defending

defends

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Defending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defending. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of defending

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

grotesque

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes