Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To oppose or resist with boldness and assurance.
- transitive verb To refuse to submit to or cooperate with.
- transitive verb To be beyond the application or scope of; be contrary or resistant to.
- transitive verb To challenge or dare (someone) to do something.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To renounce; reject; refuse; repudiate; cast off.
- To revolt at; reject from dislike; disapprove.
- To challenge to contest or trial with arms; dare to meet in combat.
- To challenge to an action or procedure of any kind; dare to do something (generally with an implication of belief that it cannot be done, or that the action will fail of its purpose).
- To dare; brave; manifest a contempt of or indifference to (opposition, attack, or hostile force); set at naught; resist successfully: as, to
defy the arguments of an opponent; to defy the power of a magistrate. - To reject; eject; void: with out.
- To digest.
- To digest; be digested.
- noun A challenge; a defiance.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun obsolete A challenge.
- transitive verb obsolete To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce.
- transitive verb 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
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete A
challenge . - verb To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce.
- verb this sense?) To
provoke tocombat orstrife ; tocall out tocombat ; tochallenge ; todare ; tobrave ; toset atdefiance ; to treat with contempt.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb challenge
- verb resist or confront with resistance
- verb elude, especially in a baffling way
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Regardless of party affiliation or politics, the attacks on Palin defy everything that this country is suppose to be about.
I'm 'saddened' by 'vicious attacks' on Palin, McCain says 2009
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Monotremes defy the English word mammal, which implies breasts, or at least nipples.
Archive 2006-09-01 2006
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Monotremes defy the English word mammal, which implies breasts, or at least nipples.
Monotremata 2006
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Kichwapi colleague Enrique Conejo said some terms defy easy Quechua translation: "The word inflation is a headache."
unknown title 2009
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Yet, parasites do not by definition defy vaccines.
Parasite Rex Carl Zimmer 2009
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Yet, parasites do not by definition defy vaccines.
Parasite Rex Carl Zimmer 2009
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Yet, parasites do not by definition defy vaccines.
Parasite Rex Carl Zimmer 2009
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I dropped the Ann from my name to defy my mother, who had insisted I be called by the refined name of Carole Ann, not plain old Carole.
Healed by Horses Carole Fletcher 2005
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I dropped the Ann from my name to defy my mother, who had insisted I be called by the refined name of Carole Ann, not plain old Carole.
Healed by Horses Carole Fletcher 2005
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I dropped the Ann from my name to defy my mother, who had insisted I be called by the refined name of Carole Ann, not plain old Carole.
Healed by Horses Carole Fletcher 2005
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