forfend
Americanverb (used with object)
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to defend, secure, or protect.
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to fend off, avert, or prevent.
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Archaic. forbid.
verb
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to protect or secure
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obsolete to prohibit or prevent
Etymology
Origin of forfend
First recorded in 1350–1400, forfend is from the Middle English word forfenden. See for-, fend
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The reason is clear: Audiences gravitate toward the popular and shrink from the unknown or, heaven forfend, the challenging.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 20, 2025
Recently relocated to Paris from Los Angeles, Millepied has not — heaven forfend — been idle.
From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2024
Otherwise, he has to use — heaven forfend — a metal teapot.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2022
And heaven forfend that we report deaths occurring more than two days before.
From Washington Post • Feb. 19, 2021
Heaven forfend that the owl should have suffered a fraction of what Abel wished it.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
