defiance

¹

[dih-fahy-uhns]

noun

1. a daring or bold resistance to authority or to any opposing force.

2. open disregard; contempt (often followed byof ).

   defiance of danger; His refusal amounted to defiance.

3. a challenge to meet in combat or in a contest.

Defiance

²

[dih-fahy-uhns]

noun

1. a city in NW Ohio.

defiance

/ dɪˈfaɪəns /

noun

1. open or bold resistance to or disregard for authority, opposition, or power

2. a challenging attitude or behaviour; challenge

Other Word Forms

• nondefiance noun
• predefiance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of defiance¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French; equivalent to defy + -ance

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. bid defiance to, to offer resistance; defy.

2. in defiance of, in spite of; notwithstanding.

   There was a splendid audience in defiance of the rainstorm.

see in defiance of.

Example Sentences

But this isn’t a dirge — it’s a fight song and a taunt, and it sets the tone of comfortable, mischievous defiance that threads through the entire album.

From Salon

For a while, they stick together mostly to stick it to her, in defiance of the fact that contempt is the No. 1 indicator of divorce.

From Los Angeles Times

You write in the first few pages of your book that writing it was “an act of self-love after decades of defiance.”

From Los Angeles Times

The lawyer said he believes Minguela was arrested in defiance of a federal judge’s order that immigration authorities cannot racially profile people or use roving patrols to target immigrants.

From Los Angeles Times

They also follow other actions by the administration to challenge his opponents, including executive actions targeting law firms that had challenged his interests, lawsuits against media organizations and defiance of court orders.

From Salon

Related Words

• confrontation 
• contempt 
• opposition 
• provocation 
• rebellion 
• spite