as in guardians
someone that protects
one of the traditional roles of an older brother is that of schoolyard defender
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of defenders
Trump’s defenders and critics sparred over whether the signature resembled his own.
—
Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 9 Sep. 2025
Moore attempted to catch a pass from quarterback Caleb Wiliams over the middle of the field, when he was pulled down by defenders.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
While parallel to the ground, Mahomes managed to flip the ball over three Chargers defenders to Smith-Schuster.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2025
Since entering the league in 2021, Jones has established himself as one of the best/most versatile wing defenders in the association.
—Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Among front seven freshmen defenders, Cristobal told Rose that defensive tackle Donta Simpson (20 snaps), edge player Herbert Scroggins (15 snaps) and linebacker Kellen Wiley (nine snaps) played well.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
The 5-foot-9, 195-pound North Dakota commit has gotten into the habit of spending Friday nights gleefully avoiding oncoming defenders.
—Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
On the team’s opening possession, Sherrod was flanked out and caught a pass before being rocked by a pair of South Florida defenders.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 29 Aug. 2025
Houston should be better offensively this season with the arrival of Texas A&M transfer Conner Weigman, but many of the Cougars’ top defenders departed for bigger schools in the transfer portal.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025
Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 9 Sep. 2025
Moore attempted to catch a pass from quarterback Caleb Wiliams over the middle of the field, when he was pulled down by defenders.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
While parallel to the ground, Mahomes managed to flip the ball over three Chargers defenders to Smith-Schuster.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2025
Since entering the league in 2021, Jones has established himself as one of the best/most versatile wing defenders in the association.
—Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Among front seven freshmen defenders, Cristobal told Rose that defensive tackle Donta Simpson (20 snaps), edge player Herbert Scroggins (15 snaps) and linebacker Kellen Wiley (nine snaps) played well.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
The 5-foot-9, 195-pound North Dakota commit has gotten into the habit of spending Friday nights gleefully avoiding oncoming defenders.
—Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 30 Aug. 2025
On the team’s opening possession, Sherrod was flanked out and caught a pass before being rocked by a pair of South Florida defenders.
—Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 29 Aug. 2025
Houston should be better offensively this season with the arrival of Texas A&M transfer Conner Weigman, but many of the Cougars’ top defenders departed for bigger schools in the transfer portal.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defenders
Noun
-
The rest rely on parents or guardians.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The entire nest changes, the child changes and the parents/guardians change.—
Tembi Locke,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Cloudflare, just like custodians of all web properties, has an affirmative duty to secure the service.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Shaping Tomorrow’s Cyber Defenses Agentic AI presents a compelling vision for the future of cybersecurity, one in which intelligent agents function as relentless, adaptive custodians, collaborating with human professionals.—
Perry Carpenter,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The nonprofit has served more than 1,000 Indigenous youths from 20 endangered rivers, with a goal to inspire them to become the next generation of water and river protectors.—
Debra Utacia Krol,
USA Today,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Last season, right guard Mike Onwenu and right tackle Morgan Moses graded out positively at Pro Football Focus, while Campbell and Wilson were in college, and Garrett Bradbury ranked among the NFL’s worst pass-protectors among all centers.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Other consumer advocates agree that more protections are needed.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
-
More than half of CMOs said they were focused on strengthening data privacy and protections over the next two years, up from around four in 10 in the previous year’s survey.—
Tom Barkley,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
One of her bodyguards was killed in a shootout.—
Ray Long,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Palantir’s Alex Karp, for example, who runs a data-intelligence company with controversial defense contracts, employs a 24/7 security detail with up to four visible bodyguards.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Bolsonaro is under house arrest, surrounded by guards to prevent him from fleeing to a foreign embassy to request asylum.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The latter option is particularly tantalizing because both guards offer valuable skills that could help a playoff hopeful be even more formidable in 2025-26.—
Mat Issa,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defenders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defenders. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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