defy
/dɪˈfaɪ/
defy verb: to challenge (someone) or brave (a hazard or opposition).
Verb
defy (third-person singular simple present defies, present participle defying, simple past and past participle defied)
- To challenge (someone) or brave (a hazard or opposition).
- 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 / Defie thee to the trial of mortal fight.1671, John Milton, Samson Agonistes
- To refuse to obey.
- If you defy your teacher you may end up in detention.
- Before coalition forces arrived, Iraq was ruled by a dictatorship that murdered its own citizens, threatened its neighbors, and defied the world.2005, George W. Bush, Presidential Radio Address - 19 March 2005
- To not conform to or follow a pattern, set of rules or expectations.
- By tossing this nineteenth electron back and forth between its own orbit and that of its lost companion more than twenty-five thousand times a second, a mutilated stone atom is able partially to defy gravity and thus successfully to ride the emerging streams of light and energy, the sunbeams, to...1955, anonymous author, The Urantia Book, Paper 41
- “To be determined,” Kane said, “is whether Griner and her towering skill and engaging personality will defy the odds and attract corporate sponsors as part of widespread public acceptance four decades after passage of the gender-equity legislation known as Title IX.”2013, Jeré Longman, “W.N.B.A. Hopes Griner Can Change Perceptions, as Well as Game Itself”, in New York Times
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce.
- For thee I have defied my constant mistress.1603-1625, Beaumont and Fletcher
- Dear perfum'd jackets, pennyless breeches; / Dutch flapdragons, healths in urine; / Drabs that keep a man too sure in: / I do defy you all. / Lend me each honest hand, for here I rise / A reclaim'd man, loathing the general vice.c. 1604–1606 (date written; published 1608), Thomas Middleton, “A Trick to Catch the Old One”, in A[rthur] H[enry] Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton […] (The English Dramatists), volume...
Noun
defy (plural defies)
- A challenge.
- And, safe intrench'd within, her foes without defies1687, [John Dryden], “(please specify the page number)”, in The Hind and the Panther. A Poem, in Three Parts, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC
defy meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
defy in Tamil
- அறைகூவல் விடு, எதிர்த்து நில், மறுத்துரை, எதிர்ப்புரை
defy in Urdu
- للکارنا, مقابلہ کرنا
defy in Bengali
- প্রতিরোধ করা, অবাধ্য হওয়া
defy in Malayalam
- നേരേ എതിർക്കുക, അനാദരിക്കുക, വെല്ലുവിളിക്കുക, ധിക്കരിക്കുക
More languagesFewer languages
- defy in Kannada
- ಪ್ರತಿಭಟಿಸು, ವಿರೋಧಿಸು, ಉಲ್ಲಂಘಿಸು, ಧಿಕ್ಕರಿಸು
- defy in Persian
- سرپیچی, نافرمانی, سر باز زدن
- defy in Thai
- ท้าทาย táa-taai, ต่อต้าน dtɔ̀ɔ-dtâan, ขัดขืน kàt-kʉ̌ʉn, ขัด kàt
Examples of defy in a sentence
- A group of rebels defied the general's orders and split off from the main army.
- There are certain things that defy human understanding.
- The way Green practices witchcraft defies stereotypes of broomstick-wielding, cauldron-toting, pointy-hatted witches.
Forms of defy
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | defies |
| present participle | defying |
| past participle | defied |
| past | defied |
| Noun | |
| plural | defies |
Origin of defy
From Old French desfier, from Vulgar Latin *disfidare (“renounce one's faith”), from Latin dis- (“away”) + fidus (“faithful”). Meaning shifted in the 14th century from "be disloyal" to "challenge". Contrast confide, fidelity, faith.
Words formed from defy
Words that rhyme with defy
Questions about defy
- What does defy mean?
- Defy means to challenge (someone) or brave (a hazard or opposition).
- What is defy in Tamil?
- Defy in Tamil is அறைகூவல் விடு, எதிர்த்து நில், மறுத்துரை. See Defy meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is defy?
- Defy can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce defy?
- Defy is pronounced /dɪˈfaɪ/.
- What is the past tense of defy?
- The past tense of defy is defied.
Words near defy in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: defy (page history and authors); defy (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); defy (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); defy (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); defy (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); defy (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). 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: en-us-defy.ogg.
Cite this entry: “defy.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/defy. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.