DEFY: Dictionary Entry and Meaning
| Pronunciation: | | di'fI
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 WordNet Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | |
- [v] challenge; "I dare you!"
- [v] resist or confront with resistance; "The politician defied public opinion"; "The new material withstands even the greatest wear and tear"; "The bridge held"
- [v] elude, esp. in a baffling way; "This behavior defies explanation"
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| | Synonyms: | | dare, hold, hold up, refuse, withstand |
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| | Antonyms: | | apply, lend oneself | | |
| | See Also: | | beggar, brave, brave out, brazen, challenge, elude, endure, escape, hold out, resist, stand firm, weather | |
| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | |
\De*fy"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Defied}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Defying}.] [F. d['e]fier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL.
disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond
of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to
challenge, defy; fr. L. dis- + fides faith. See {Faith}, and
cf. {Diffident}, {Affiance}.]
1. To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or
obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [Obs.]
I defy the surety and the bond. --Chaucer.
For thee I have defied my constant mistress. --Beau.
& Fl.
2. To provoke to combat or strife; to call out to combat; to
challenge; to dare; to brave; to set at defiance; to treat
with contempt; as, to defy an enemy; to defy the power of
a magistrate; to defy the arguments of an opponent; to
defy public opinion.
I once again Defy thee to the trial of mortal fight.
--Milton.
I defy the enemies of our constitution to show the
contrary. --Burke.
\De*fy"\, n.
A challenge. [Obs.] --Dryden.
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| Thesaurus Terms |
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| | Related Terms: | | affront, attack, baffle, balk, battle cry, be a man, be proof against, bear up, bear up against, beard, bid defiance, bid to combat, blast, brave, brazen out, break, break the law, breast, bring before, bring forward, bring up, call out, care naught for, cartel, challenge, checkmate, circumvent, confound, confront, confront with, contravene, counter, counteract, countermand, counterwork, cross, dare, dash, declare war, defeat, defi, deride, destroy, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, dish, disobey, disregard, disrupt, do violence to, double dare, double-dare, elude, encounter, endure, envisage, face, face out, face with, flout, flummox, foil, front, frustrate, gage, gage of battle, gauntlet, gibe, glove, go counter to, have the guts, have the nerve, hold out, hold up, ignore, infringe, knock the chocks, lay before, levy war on, make bold to, make war on, meet, meet squarely, mock, nonplus, not conform, not heed, not keep, not listen, not mind, not observe, open hostilities, outdare, outface, perplex, place before, present to, put it to, rebel yell, rebuff, refuse to cooperate, repel, repulse, resist, ridicule, ruin, sabotage, scoff at, scorn, scotch, scout, scream defiance, set at defiance, set at naught, set before, set naught by, show fight, spike, spoil, stand, stand up, stand up to, stare down, stem, stonewall, stump, thwart, trample on, trample underfoot, trample upon, transgress, trespass, upset, venture, violate, war cry, war whoop, withstand |
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