fend (off)

verb

Definition of fend (off)next
as in to repel
to drive back the herd fended off attacking hyenas

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fend (off)
  1. repel
  2. resist
  3. turn back
  4. repulse
  5. turn away
  6. stave off
Verb
  • But with all the progress being made, and a true effort to fix this problem that generally repels people from the sport, the numbers are starting to go back up in California.
    John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Republican William McKinley’s 1896 election saw the industrial establishment repel the challenge of economic populism.
    Carl Leubsdorf, The Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2024
Definition of repel
Verb
  • Congress, however, resisted, and the proposal never became law.
    Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024
  • Of those, 590 were charged with assaulting, resisting, impeding or obstructing law enforcement officers, and 645 have been sentenced to some period of incarceration, the department said.
    Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Definition of resist
Verb
  • As the girls were crossing the bridge, German turned back and posted several photos to Snapchat, including one of Williams minding her steps.
    Aja Romano, Vox, 11 Nov. 2024
  • Another theory posits that the wiggling of Alfvén waves, oscillations in the Sun’s magnetic field that penetrate into the corona and turn back on themselves, can also inject energy into the solar wind.
    ByHannah Richter, science.org, 31 Oct. 2024
Definition of turn back
Verb
  • He is especially repulsed by the behavior of Republicans after the 2020 election.
    Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Is she drawn to Chevalier and his alleged acts, or repulsed by them?
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of repulse
Verb
  • But Trump cannot turn away from China entirely, Wang said.
    Jennifer Jett, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
  • That’s when elections staff close the line, but those who are already queued won’t be turned away.
    Grant Stringer, The Mercury News, 5 Nov. 2024
Definition of turn away
Verb
  • Recent market optimism stems from hopes that rate cuts can stave off recession fears, even while the U.S. economy faces pressures from higher interest rates and a potential slowdown.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
  • The big picture: Republicans are looking to stave off multiple rounds of speaker votes and motions to vacate.
    Juliegrace Brufke, Axios, 3 Nov. 2024
Definition of stave off
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near fend (off)

fending (off)

fend (off)

fends

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Fend (off).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fend%20%28off%29. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

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 All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

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

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

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 Word Game 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?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
little chihuahua dressing like a turkey for thanksgiving
Is That Gratitude or Attitude? A Thanksgiving Quiz Decide which words express gratitude and which gi...