defendant
Serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive, defending.
Adjective 1 meaning
Serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive, defending.
Noun 2 meanings
In civil proceedings, the party responding to the complaint; one who is sued and called upon to make satisfaction for a wrong complained of by another.
In criminal proceedings, the accused.
Etymology
From Middle English defendaunt (“defending; defending in a suit”), borrowed from Old French defendant, present participle of defendre, from Latin dēfendere.
Similar and opposite words
DEFENDANT at a glance
DEFENDANT has 9 letters and scores 14 points in Scrabble (D 2 + E 1 + F 4 + E 1 + N 1 + D 2 + A 1 + N 1 + T 1) and 16 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #7,219 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with defendant
All rhymes- WANT7
- IMPORTANT13
- SIGNIFICANT17
- MEANT7
- PLANT7
- ASSISTANT9
- RESTAURANT10
- GRANT6
- GIANT6
- RELEVANT11
- PREGNANT11
- BRILLIANT11
One letter away
- DEPENDANT13
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