Definition of "protected" []

• Defended. (adjective)
• Having the protected access modifier, indicating that a program element is accessible to subclasses but not to the program in general. (adjective)
• Simple past tense and past participle of protect. (verb)

Wiktionary.org : Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

• "Banks, however, were for the most part protected from the rules that applied to everyone else - and ­protected at great cost to public funds."
• "A good example is of those in "protected" groups (blacks, women, etc) responding to arguments by saying you are just being racist/sexist."
• "O'Hara's beauty makes her another object to be acquired and handled, protected from the peons who won't appreciate her properly."