Defend
[dɪ'fend] or [dɪ'fɛnd]
Definition
(verb.) argue or speak in defense of; 'She supported the motion to strike'.
(verb.) be on the defensive; act against an attack.
(verb.) protect against a challenge or attack; 'Hold that position behind the trees!'; 'Hold the bridge against the enemy's attacks'.
(verb.) be the defense counsel for someone in a trial; 'Ms. Smith will represent the defendant'.
Checker: Tessie--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To ward or fend off; to drive back or away; to repel.
(v. t.) To prohibit; to forbid.
(v. t.) 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.
(v. t.) 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.
Checked by Jeannette
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Guard, PROTECT, shield, secure from danger, secure from attack.[2]. Vindicate, assert, maintain, uphold, justify, espouse, plead.
Checker: Uriah
Definition
v.t. to keep off anything hurtful: to guard or protect: to maintain against attack: (obs.) to prohibit forbid: (law) to resist as a claim: to contest.—adj. Defend′able that may be defended.—ns. Defend′ant a defender: (law) a person accused or sued; Defendee′ one who is defended; Defend′er; Defen′sative a protection; Defensibil′ity.—adjs. Defens′ible that may be defended; Defens′ive Defen′sory serving to defend: in a state or posture of defence.—n. that which defends: posture of defence.—adv. Defens′ively.—Defender of the Faith a title borne by the sovereigns of England since Henry VIII. on whom it was conferred in 1521 for his book against Luther.—Be on the defensive to be in the position to defend one's self.
Checker: Zelig
Examples
- I don't defend poor Stanislas, though he has always called me his best friend. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- But if she does, I am quite sure you will find her sons able to defend their island, even against enmity and treachery. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- Heaven defend me from being ungrateful! Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- Here, again, he disarmed me by not attempting to defend himself. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- The opportunity frequently occurred for me to defend General Buell against what I believed to be most unjust charges. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- I don't defend the folly of playing you a trick under the circumstances. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- He stood up to defend Aspasia, he was seized by a storm of very human emotion, and as he spoke he wept--a gleeful thing for the rabble. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- In great circles the air craft of the marauders swept lower and lower toward the defending forces of the therns. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- You abuse Moore for defending his mill. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- But a coward, a man incapable either of defending or of revenging himself, evidently wants one of the most essential parts of the character of a man. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- I was upstairs, mama, moving my things, said Susan, in a fearless, self-defending tone, which startled Fanny. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- But he is incapable of defending them in a discussion, and vainly tries to cover his confusion with banter and insolence. Plato. The Republic.
- Then of course the pirates began their attacks, and he was kept poor in defending his patents, and died comparatively so in 1860; but happy in his great discovery. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- Life has been miserable--miserable, at least, of late--but I will not cast away the gift of God, while he affords me the means of defending it. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- And say, mothers of America, is this a thing to be defended, sympathized with, passed over in silence? Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- In that, he could not be defended; but if he had injured her, how much more had he injured himself; if her case were pitiable, his was hopeless. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- Melnos is well defended, but I mistrust Andros—he is too much a friend of that rascal Alcibiades. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- I love thee as I love Madrid that we have defended and as I love all my comrades that have died. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- He had defended the Sierra well and he wanted to be left alone there to defend it whenever it was attacked. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- The lower or eastern end was defended by two or three small detached works, armed with artillery and infantry. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- These two armies, and the cities covered and defended by them, were the main objective points of the campaign. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- He defends both,--and I think, at least, _consistently_. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- God often defends the powerful. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Yes; but it might make some unpleasant talk if he really defends the suit. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
Inputed by Harlow