Defend and Surrender

Defend

Defend verb - To drive danger or attack away from.

Surrender is an antonym for defend in topics: protect, show support for.

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

Defend is an antonym for surrender in resign topic.

Nearby Words: surrendered, surrendering

Common collocations

friend defend friend surrender friend
position defend position surrender position
land defend land surrender land
place defend place surrender place
Other words: way, earth, world, territory, title, kingdom, ship, child, castle, city, championship, myself.

Both words in one sentence

  • Crazy Enough to Work Invade Africa and attack Carthage directly (either getting Hannibal's leaders to surrender or forcing Hannibal to return home to defend them)?
  • Godzilla Threshold 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.
  • Video Game / DmC: Devil May Cry 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.
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