Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The state or quality of being
defensive .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun excessive sensitivity to criticism
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Which brings us to fear of saying the wrong thing: Your defensiveness is a precursor to walking on eggshells.
Carolyn Hax: Girlfriend's distrust must be confronted, not mollified Carolyn Hax 2010
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Anybody who votes for any reason other than pure defensiveness is a fool.
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Actually, I don't doubt that defensiveness is often the motivation when this charge is leveled.
More on Critique Hal Duncan 2009
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The defensiveness comes from the fact that those in the records department, Jack and I, take great offensive to a comment suggesting we aren't correctly portraying what in Jack's case has been a distinguished career working for the club and trying to keep the records as representative as possible since that is why it was started, we are a conservation organization that keeps records not a records keeping organization that cares about conservation.
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And so I think there's a certain defensiveness, a certain closing ranks around Barack Obama.
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The defensiveness comes from the fact that those in the records department, Jack and I, take great offensive to a comment suggesting we aren't correctly portraying what in Jack's case has been a distinguished career working for the club and trying to keep the records as representative as possible since that is why it was started, we are a conservation organization that keeps records not a records keeping organization that cares about conservation.
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Anybody who votes for any reason other than pure defensiveness is a fool.
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And so I think there's a certain defensiveness, a certain closing ranks around Barack Obama.
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I've had this script spoken "to" me -- and I found that I didn't rise up in defensiveness because it didn't attack me in any way.
Tearing Down Dave Hingsburger 2007
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But my defensiveness is not just indignation at being doubted.
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