Defend
Defend verb - To drive danger or attack away from.
Surrender
Surrender verb - To give up (as a position of authority) formally.
Usage example: the aging queen refused to surrender the throne to her increasingly impatient heir
Nearby Words: surrendered, surrendering
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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Invade Africa and attack Carthage directly (either getting Hannibal's leaders to surrender or forcing Hannibal to return home to defend them)?
Source: Crazy Enough to Work -
There is a strict line here, though, as they must be presenting an imminent threat to you or someone else - so if someone attacks you, you can legally defend yourself, but if they turn to run or surrender, you cannot continue to attack.
Source: Godzilla Threshold -
Would Hit a Girl: The SWAT team that storms The Order's base shoot Kat in the shoulder as soon as they enter the server room, even though she has her arms raised in surrender and no way to defend herself.
Source: Video Game / DmC: Devil May Cry
Cite this Source
Surrender and Defend. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/defend/surrender
Defend & Surrender. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/defend/surrender>.
Surrender or Defend. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/defend/surrender.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "defend" and "surrender" have occurred on timeline