TENDS Synonyms: 101 Similar and Opposite Words

tends 1 of 2

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of tend

as in leans

to show a liking or proneness (for something) her wardrobe tends toward dark colors and heavy fabrics

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tends

2 of 2

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of tend

as in supervises

to take charge of especially on behalf of another tend the store while I run an errand

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as in grows

to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care lately I haven't been doing a good job of tending my garden

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as in cultivates

to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on plots that during the war were tended by city dwellers as vegetable gardens

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as in manages

to look after and make decisions about the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of tends

Verb

But in general, even a degree in the humanities and other non-STEM fields tends to result in higher incomes compared with those who never finished college. — Andrew Khouri, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026 Aaronson pointed to the second law of thermodynamics, which states that entropy, a measure of disorder, tends to increase over time. — Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 28 Aug. 2026 The problem is that W tends to put a significant damper on gatherings. — R. Eric Thomas, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2026 Correlation, after all, tends to be strongest when a sudden shock spurs investors to take risk off in tandem. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026 The sensation tends to affect the nasal passages and can sometimes seem stronger than the heat of some peppers. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Aug. 2026 Football is inescapably tribal and opposition abuse tends to prompt a closing of ranks. — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026 In a pedagogical culture that tends to shy away from unpleasantness, Goodwin’s approach felt like an honest — and valuable — way of dealing with one of the ugliest aspects of American literary history. — Helen I. Bennett, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026 Regarding Taiwan, China’s sustained pressure to acquire the island tends to overshadow a dramatic economic and political success story. — Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tends

Verb

Ask an American what a wellness vacation involves, and the answer leans toward cucumber water and a mud wrap.

— Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Primary suite opens to garden The primary bedroom leans into indoor-outdoor living.

— David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of leans

Verb

The State Board of Education supervises public education in Michigan and appoints the state superintendent.

— Clara Hendrickson, Freep.com, 28 Aug. 2026
The executive also coordinates and supervises county departments and is responsible for submitting an annual balanced budget to the Legislature.

— Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of supervises

Verb

To avert future calamities, the forest outside Bordeaux must be thinned and its fire breaks widened, said Arthur Guérin-Turcq, a Sorbonne University geographer whose family cultivates pines near Le Porge.

— Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
In 1840, shade-loving Croomia, which cultivates flowers on the underside of its leaves, was included as a native species.

— Candace Barone, Florida Times-Union, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of cultivates

Verb

Unbeknownst to them, a mysterious entity watches from high above with Godlike judgment.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026
Zhang Jianxin watches shoppers fist-bump with a shiny, gyrating, humanoid robot at his showroom in China’s southern city of Guangzhou.

— Ann Scott Tyson, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of watches

Verb

The Texatron produces this powerful field dynamically during the pulse itself, avoiding the need for massive static coils.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
Farmers are reluctant to plant John Boelts grows vegetables, melons, durum wheat and other crops in Yuma, Arizona — a region that produces about 90% of leafy greens eaten in North America during the winter.

— Wufei Yu, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of produces

Verb

The playwright’s story plants its clues carefully enough that the eventual revelations feel surprising without feeling arbitrary — exactly what a good ghost story should accomplish.

— Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026
Speculations have arisen about the possibilities that plants’ cellular consciousness is aware of cellular death beyond their immediate environment.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2026