Defenderò

Defenderò is not the standard form in Italian. The correct infinitive is difendere, and the first-person singular future simple is difenderò, meaning “I will defend.” The form defenderò, lacking the i after d, is generally considered a misspelling in standard Italian, though it may appear in informal writing or stylized uses.

Origins and form

Difendere derives from the Latin defendere (to defend) and is a regular -ere verb in Italian. The future tense follows the standard pattern for -ere verbs: io difenderò, tu difenderai, lui/lei difenderà, noi difenderemo, voi difenderete, loro difenderanno. The accent in difenderò falls on the final syllable, as with many Italian verbs ending in -erò.

Usage and nuance

Difendere is used to express the act of defending someone or something, whether physically, legally, morally, or rhetorically. It can refer to defending a person, a set of rights, a position, a claim, or one’s own arguments. In legal, political, and everyday language, phrases like Io difenderò i diritti dei cittadini or Difenderò la mia tesi con prove concrete are common.

Examples

- Io difenderò i diritti dei cittadini in tribunale.

- Difenderò la mia tesi con dati e fonti affidabili.

Related terms

Difendere appears with reflexive forms (difendersi, to defend oneself) and with nouns such as difesa (defense) and difensore (defender, defender in a person). The form defenderò should be avoided in formal writing in favor of the standard difenderò. See also the broader family of verb forms derived from defendere/difendere.

Notes

For non-native learners, memorize the correct spelling difenderò and its pronunciation, with the stress on the final syllable.