warding

1. 1
   noununcountable

   The action of guarding, protecting, or fending something off.

   The nightly warding of the harbor entrance demanded constant attention.

   Effective warding against rust kept the old tools usable for decades.

   Similarguarding, protection, defense, safeguarding

   Note

   A true noun, unlike the -ing verb form. It takes an article and an of-phrase (the warding of the harbor) rather than a direct object, and it can be counted. In the plural the particle stays at the end: wardings off. The Digest of Neurology and Psychiatry of 1968 uses exactly that form for defense mechanisms, which shows the word at home in psychological writing.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of ward.

   The old charm was said to be warding the house from misfortune.

   Warding the perimeter through the night left the sentries exhausted.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs. After be it is a participle (the sentries were warding the gate), and as a subject or object it is a gerund (warding the gate was tiring work). It keeps the verb's full range: transitive when something is guarded or repelled, intransitive when someone simply keeps watch. In the fending sense it usually takes off: warding off a blow, warding off a chill.

   She kept warding off questions about the missing funds.

   Warding off the cold took every blanket in the cabin.

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