Defend himself

[Kurt Cobain]

Test No. incompl/inter-27 "The Two Dogs", question 7

The house dog felt he had to ......... himself in the face of all this criticism.

(a) display
(b) detect
(c) defend
(d) distend

Test No. incompl/inter-27 "The Two Dogs", answer 7

The house dog felt he had to defend himself in the face of all this criticism.

Correct answer: (c) defend

Your answer was: incorrect
The house dog felt he had to display himself in the face of all this criticism.
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What does the word defend mean?

[Mister Micawber]

.
Defend himself means to protect himself, to offer argument or proof, to assert the truth-- against the criticism he was receiving.

If you say that I am a bad writer, I will defend myself by telling you that my poems have been published in the New Yorker magazine, showing you a copy.
.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's