Undefended

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having no protective measures in place against harm or assault
2. Not guarded or shielded from attack or danger
3. Exposed and without any safeguard against harm

Etymology: "Undefended" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "defended", the past participle of "defend". Its roots run back through the Proto-Indo-European *n̥- (the same negating element that gave Latin "in-" and Greek "a-") into Proto-Germanic and then Old English, where "un-" was already a productive prefix for turning adjectives and participles into their negatives. "Defend" itself came into English through Old French "defendre" from Latin "defendere", meaning "to ward off" or "to protect", a sense that still anchors the word's modern meaning. "Defended" therefore describes something that has been guarded or fortified, and "undefended" describes the reverse: a place or person left open to attack, with nothing standing between them and harm.

Synonyms: unprotected, unshielded, vulnerable, exposed, unfortified

Antonyms: defended, protected, safeguarded, secured, fortified