defy
Americanverb (used with object)
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to challenge the power of; resist boldly or openly.
Love drives the characters to ignore their family feud and defy parental authority.
The artist defies conventional categories by blending very different styles in her work.
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to offer effective resistance to; make virtually impossible.
Their strategic position is helped by having a fort that defies attack.
The facts were so complex that they defied simple explanation.
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to challenge (a person) to do something deemed impossible.
They defied him to dive off the bridge.
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Archaic. to challenge to a combat or contest.
noun
plural
defiesverb
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to resist (a powerful person, authority, etc) openly and boldly
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to elude, esp in a baffling way
his actions defy explanation
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formal to challenge or provoke (someone to do something judged to be impossible); dare
I defy you to climb that cliff
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archaic to invite to do battle or combat
Other Word Forms
- defiable adjective
- defier noun
- defyingly adverb
- predefy verb (used with object)
- redefy verb (used with object)
- undefiable adjective
- undefiably adverb
Etymology
Origin of defy
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Middle English defien, Old French desfier, from des- dis- 1 + fier “to trust” (from Vulgar Latin fīdāre (unrecorded), from Latin fīdere; fidelity ( def. ) )
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.
In 2009, they defied threats from the regime to lead opposition rallies.
Though classified as a comedy for purposes of the Golden Globes — Byrne won lead female actor in a movie musical or comedy — “If I Had Legs,” like Byrne’s career, defies categorization.
From Los Angeles Times
She's an artist who defies convention, not simply because of her age and her bold, irreverent work, but also because of how she got here.
From BBC
As I explained to aides my willingness to now defy that law, I held up a copy of the California Constitution.
From Los Angeles Times
There is a particular kind of hypocrisy so brazen, so cartoonishly on-the-nose, that it almost defies satire.
From Salon
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.
