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
  • Macy's repelled a $6.9 billion take-private offer and a near-board fight from Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management earlier this year.
    Kimberly Chin, Axios, 11 Dec. 2024
  • And by galvanizing Arab states to help repel Iran’s April attack, the Israelis have shown that Arab governments are willing to join the Jewish state in deterring Iran, despite the sympathy for the Palestinians among Arab populations.
    Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024
Definition of repel
Verb
  • The president apologized to the nation on Saturday morning but resisted calls to resign ahead of the vote.
    Cynthia Kim, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
  • Clients Resisting Change; Coaches Not Building Trust Executive coaching may not succeed if the client resists change and seeks validation rather than growth.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of resist
Verb
  • In White House comments, President Joe Biden said the deal would allow his Middle East team to turn back to securing an elusive ceasefire deal in Gaza.
    Howard LaFranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Nov. 2024
  • Kobayashi’s phone’s was last turned on at LAX on Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. and hasn’t been turned back on since.
    Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024
Definition of turn back
Verb
  • She’s repulsed by her husband, Jim (Clifford Kershaw), whose grabby hands demand her body and attention, often without her consent.
    Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2024
  • Over decades, my attempts to conquer the Spanish language have been repulsed.
    Calvin Trillin, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2024
Definition of repulse
Verb
  • Many people, perhaps women most of all, have been quietly turning away from heterosexual partnership.
    Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 3 Dec. 2024
  • In total, 13 commits turned away from their pledge to the Trojans during this recruiting cycle, among the most of any program in the country.
    Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2024
Definition of turn away
Verb
  • Many of the best water bottles aren’t dishwasher safe, so having a cleaning tool that can really get up in there is the best way to stave off the water bottle nasties.
    Emily Farris, Bon Appétit, 3 Dec. 2024
  • Cyber Monday 2024 Deals Best Cyber Monday deals for holiday shoppers Top holiday discounts under $100 Apple products marked down for Cyber Monday sales Congress has until Dec. 20 to pass legislation to stave off a government funding lapse.
    Aris Folley, The Hill, 2 Dec. 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 21 Dec. 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

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

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

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

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

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
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
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...