defend

Bridgezipf 4.47

Pronunciation

/dɪˈfend/(dih-FEND)

Part of speech

verbneutral

Chinese

辩护；保卫；捍卫（为某人或某事物辩护，或保护其免受批评或攻击）

Definition

To resist an attack on; to speak or write in favour of; to justify or maintain a position when challenged.

Word family

  • defence/dɪˈfens/(n)防御；辩护
  • defendant/dɪˈfendənt/(n)被告
  • defensive/dɪˈfensɪv/(adj)防御性的；自卫的

Collocations

  • defend a position
  • defend against
  • hard to defend
  • defend the decision
  • defend one's record
  • vigourously defend

Examples

  1. 1.The CEO was called on to defend the company's environmental record at the annual shareholder meeting.
  2. 2.It is difficult to defend a decision that was made without consulting the people most affected by it.

Synonyms

  • justify/ˈdʒʌstɪfaɪ/— to show to be right
  • advocate/ˈædvəkeɪt/— to speak in support of
  • champion/ˈtʃæmpiən/— to strongly support

Etymology

from Latin "defendere," from "de-" (off) + "fendere" (to strike)