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Definition of "defy" []

  • To oppose or resist with boldness and assurance: defied the blockade by sailing straight through it. (verb-transitive)
  • To refuse to submit to or cooperate with: defied the court order by leaving the country. (verb-transitive)
  • To be unaffected by; resist or withstand: "So the plague defied all medicines” ( Daniel Defoe). (verb-transitive)
  • To challenge or dare (someone) to do something: She defied her accusers to prove their charges. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "defy" in a sentence
  • "Regardless of party affiliation or politics, the attacks on Palin defy everything that this country is suppose to be about."
  • "Monotremes defy the English word mammal, which implies breasts, or at least nipples."
  • "Kichwapi colleague Enrique Conejo said some terms defy easy Quechua translation: "The word inflation is a headache.""