defensive
UK/dɪˈfɛn.sɪv/
More pronunciations (2)Fewer pronunciations
Australia/dɪˈfen.sɪv/
defensive adjective: intended for defence; protective.
Adjective
defensive (comparative more defensive, superlative most defensive)
- Intended for defence; protective.
- a defensive perimeter
- Intended to deter attack.
- a defensive missile system
- Performed so as to minimise risk.
- defensive driving
- Displaying an inordinate sensitivity to criticism or intrusion; oversensitive; thin-skinned.
- Of a bowling or fielding tactic designed to prevent the other side from scoring runs; of a batting tactic designed to prevent being out.
- Pertaining to defense, as opposed to attack.
- The victim held up his hand to repel the attacker and received a defensive knife wound.
- The Italian opted for Bolton's Cahill alongside captain John Terry - and his decision was rewarded with a goal after only 13 minutes. Bulgaria gave a hint of defensive frailties to come when they failed to clear Young's corner, and when Gareth Barry found Cahill in the box he applied the finish...2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC
- In a state or posture of defense.
- […]Once join'd, the contrary ſhe proves, a thorn
Inteſtin, far within defenſive arms[…]1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, pages 63–64...
- […]Once join'd, the contrary ſhe proves, a thorn
Noun
defensive (plural defensives)
- A means, attitude or position of defense. Chiefly in on the defensive.
- The Germans had developed a highly scientific defensive in which machine-guns replaced rifles and a maximum of punishment was inflicted upon an assaulting force with a minimum of human loss.1916, HG Wells, Mr Britling Sees it Through, London: Hogarth Press, published 1985, page 310
- Such kinds of defensives are really rather protecting the local companies than the consumers.2007 May 26, Julia Werdigier, “Consolidating the Banks of Europe”, in New York Times
defensive meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali
defensive in Hindi
- रक्षात्मक, बचावात्मक
defensive in Marathi
- बचावात्मक
defensive in Urdu
- دفاعی, مدافعانہ
defensive in Bengali
- প্রতিবাদীর, রক্ষা, পক্ষসমর্থন, আত্মরক্ষামূলক, প্রতিরক্ষামূলক, রক্ষাকর
More languagesFewer languages
- defensive in Telugu
- డిఫెన్సివ్
- defensive in Malayalam
- രക്ഷാസംവിധാനം, ആത്മരക്ഷ, ശത്രുനിവാരണം
- defensive in Kannada
- ಡಿಫೆನ್ಸಿವ್
- defensive in Gujarati
- બચાવાત્મક, રક્ષાત્મક, સંરક્ષણાત્મક
- defensive in Odia
- ରକ୍ଷଣାତ୍ମକ, ପ୍ରତିରକ୍ଷାତ୍ମକ, ରକ୍ଷାତ୍ମକ
- defensive in Nepali
- रक्षात्मक, डिफेन्सिभ
Examples of defensive in a sentence
- The fighters provide a defensive air umbrella over the battle group.
- Our defensive live is too deep. We need to move further up the field.
- The soccer coach made a like-for-like substitution, replacing the injured defender with another defensive player.
Antonyms of defensive
Forms of defensive
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more defensive |
| superlative | most defensive |
| Noun | |
| plural | defensives |
Origin of defensive
From Middle French défensif. Morphologically defense + -ive.
Words formed from defensive
- counterdefensive
- cyberdefensive
- defensive back
- defensive copy
- defensive copying
- defensive design
- defensive end
- defensive field
- defensive halfback
- defensive indifference
- defensive line
- defensive lineman
- defensive line of scrimmage
- defensively
- defensive medicine
- defensive midfielder
- defensiveness
- defensive programming
- defensive spiral
- defensive tackle
- defensive wound
- defensive zone
- hyperdefensive
- immunodefensive
- indefensive
- nondefensive
- offensive and defensive alliance
- overdefensive
- self-defensive
- undefensive
Phrases with defensive
- defensive backs
- defensive lines
- defensive zones
- defensive copies
- defensive fields
- defensive wounds
- defensive designs
- defensive linemen
- defensive spirals
- defensive tackles
- defensive halfbacks
- defensive industries
2 more phrasesFewer phrases
Questions about defensive
- What does defensive mean?
- Defensive means intended for defence; protective.
- What is defensive in Hindi?
- Defensive in Hindi is रक्षात्मक, बचावात्मक. See Defensive meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is defensive?
- Defensive can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce defensive?
- Defensive is pronounced /dɪˈfɛn.sɪv/ (UK).
Words near defensive in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: defensive (page history and authors); defensive (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); defensive (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); defensive (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); defensive (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); defensive (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); defensive (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); defensive (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); defensive (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); defensive (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); defensive (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-defensive.wav, en-au-defensive.ogg.
Cite this entry: “defensive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/defensive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.