# defended

Pronunciation: say "di-FEN-did" /dɪˈfɛndɪd/

## Verb

1. Simple past and past participle of defend. — simple past and past participle of defend
   - Simple: Simple past and past participle of defend. Use this form for something that already happened or after "have" or "was."
   - _The lawyer defended her client against the fraud charges._
   - _The garrison had defended the valley for nearly a century._

## Adjective

2. Provided with means of protection against attack.
   - Simple: Kept safe from attack by walls, weapons, or other means of protection.
   - _The fortress was the most heavily defended position along the coast._
   - _Engineers built a well defended outpost ringed by trenches and barriers._
3. Of a legal case: one in which the defendant formally responds to the allegations, usually by filing a defense or counterclaim in court.
   - Simple: Used for a court case where the accused person fights the claims by answering in court.
   - _A defended claim proceeds to trial once both sides have set out their arguments._
   - _In a defended action, the court must weigh evidence from both parties before ruling._

## Origin

Formed from "defend" combined with the suffix "-ed".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/defended (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).