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défendre

to defend

verb deh-FAHN-dr Less Common
People & Society Military

Also means

to forbid, to prohibit

Usage Note

Défendre has two almost opposite senses: to defend (défendre un pays, to defend a country) and to forbid (il est défendu de fumer, smoking is forbidden). Context makes the meaning clear. The noun défense covers both 'defence' and 'prohibition', and an elephant's tusk is also called a défense.

Examples

"Il doit défendre son équipe sur le terrain."

Natural Translation

He must defend his team on the field.

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