Meaning of DEFENSE
| Pronunciation: | | di'fens
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 WordNet Dictionary |
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- [n] protection from harm; "sanitation is the best defense against disease"
- [n] military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies; "they died in the defense of Stalingrad"; "they were developed for the defense program"
- [n] a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him; "he gave evidence for the defense"
- [n] a structure used for defense; "the artillery battered down the defenses"
- [n] the justification for some act or belief; "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory"
- [n] the speech act of answering an attack on your assertions; "his refutation of the charges was short and persuasive"; "in defense he said the other man started it"
- [n] an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack; "he joined the defense against invasion"
- [n] the defendant and his legal advisors collectively; "the defense called for a mistrial"
- [n] the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring; "his teams are always good on defense"
- [n] the federal department responsible for safeguarding national security; created in 1947
- [n] (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
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| | Synonyms: | | defence, defence, defence, defence, defence, defence force, defence mechanism, defence reaction, defending team, Defense Department, defense force, defense lawyers, defense mechanism, defense reaction, defense team, defensive measure, defensive structure, demurrer, denial, Department of Defense, DoD, refutation, vindication |
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| | Antonyms: | | offence, offense, prosecution, prosecution | | |
| | See Also: | | accumulation, action, aggregation, air defense, alibi, answer, apologia, apology, assemblage, bastion, biological warfare defense, BW defense, chemical defence, chemical defense, cheval-de-frise, chevaux-de-frise, collection, compensation, confutation, construction, conversion, deliberate defence, deliberate defense, denial, displacement, due process, due process of law, entrapment, exculpation, excuse, executive department, fastness, fort, fortification, fortress, hasty defence, hasty defense, idealisation, idealization, intellectualisation, intellectualization, isolation, justification, line of defence, line of defense, military action, minelaying, mining, munition, organisation, organization, outwork, process, projection, protection, psychoanalytic process, rationalisation, rationalization, reaction formation, rebuttal, regression, repression, self-justification, squad, stand, stronghold, structure, team, trial, umbrella, unconscious process | |
| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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\De*fense"\, Defence \De*fence"\, n. [F. d['e]fense, OF.
defense, fem., defens, masc., fr. L. defensa (cf. LL.
defensum), from defendere. See {Defend}, and cf. {Fence}.]
1. The act of defending, or the state of being defended;
protection, as from violence or danger.
In cases of defense 't is best to weigh The enemy
more mighty than he seems. --Shak.
2. That which defends or protects; anything employed to
oppose attack, ward off violence or danger, or maintain
security; a guard; a protection.
War would arise in defense of the right. --Tennyson.
God, the widow's champion and defense. --Shak.
3. Protecting plea; vindication; justification.
Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense.
--Acts xxii.
1.
4. (Law) The defendant's answer or plea; an opposing or
denial of the truth or validity of the plaintiff's or
prosecutor's case; the method of proceeding adopted by the
defendant to protect himself against the plaintiff's
action.
5. Act or skill in making defense; defensive plan or policy;
practice in self defense, as in fencing, boxing, etc.
A man of great defense. --Spenser.
By how much defense is better than no skill. --Shak.
6. Prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance. [Obs.]
Severe defenses . . . against wearing any linen
under a certain breadth. --Sir W.
Temple.
\De*fense"\, v. t.
To furnish with defenses; to fortify. [Obs.] [Written also
{defence}.]
Better manned and more strongly defensed. --Hales.
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| Thesaurus Terms |
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| | Related Terms: | | aegis, answer, apologetic, apologetics, apologia, apology, arch dam, argument, argumentation, armament, armor, arms, backfire, backstop, bamboo curtain, bank, bar, barrage, barrier, bear-trap dam, beaver dam, bicker, bickering, boom, breakwater, breastwork, brick wall, buffer, bulkhead, bulwark, casuistry, cofferdam, comeback, confutation, contention, contraremonstrance, controversy, counteraccusation, counterattack, counterblast, counterblow, countercharge, counterclaim, counterfire, counterinsurgency, countermeasure, counterreply, counterrevolution, counterstatement, counterstep, counterstroke, cover, dam, demurrer, denial, dike, disputation, dispute, ditch, earthwork, embankment, exception, exculpation, excuse, explanation, eye, fastness, fence, flyting, fort, fortress, gate, gravity dam, groin, guard, hassle, hubbub, hydraulic-fill dam, iron curtain, jam, jetty, justification, leaping weir, lee, levee, litigation, logjam, logomachy, milldam, moat, mole, mound, munitions, objection, paper war, parapet, passage of arms, plea, pleading, pleadings, polemic, polemics, portcullis, preservation, protection, protective custody, rampart, rationalization, rebuttal, rebutter, refuge, refutation, rejoinder, replication, reply, response, retort, return, rhubarb, riposte, roadblock, rock-fill dam, safeguard, safekeeping, safety, seawall, security, set-to, shade, shadow, shelter, shield, shutter dam, special demurrer, special pleading, statement of defense, stone wall, stronghold, surrebuttal, surrebutter, surrejoinder, verbal engagement, wall, war of words, ward, watchful eye, weaponry, weapons, weir, wicket dam, work, wrangling |
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