defiance
noun
a daring or bold resistance to authority or to any opposing force.
defiance
1 American
[dih-fahy-uhns]
/ dɪˈfaɪ əns /
noun
-
a daring or bold resistance to authority or to any opposing force.
-
open disregard; contempt (often followed byof ).
defiance of danger; His refusal amounted to defiance.
-
a challenge to meet in combat or in a contest.
idioms
-
bid defiance to, to offer resistance; defy.
-
in defiance of, in spite of; notwithstanding.
There was a splendid audience in defiance of the rainstorm.
Defiance
2
American
[dih-fahy-uhns]
/ dɪˈfaɪ əns /
noun
defiance
British
/ dɪˈfaɪəns /
noun
-
open or bold resistance to or disregard for authority, opposition, or power
-
a challenging attitude or behaviour; challenge
defiance
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of defiance
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French; equivalent to defy + -ance
Explanation
Stand up when the powers that be order you to sit down, and you've given a fine example of defiance. It happens when someone or a group of someones openly flouts or challenges authority. Refusing to go to bed when your parents tell you to? That's an act of defiance. Defiance comes from French — specifically to the Old French word defier, which means "to defy." (Don't mix it up with deify; that means to make someone or something into a god.) If you've ever studied Latin, you'll spot the fi in fidare, "to trust."
Vocabulary lists containing defiance
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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The Outsiders
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Walk Two Moons
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The album revels in baser instincts too, almost in defiance of the sweetly bashful “Bad Habit.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Abrams even has a song called The Knife, where she proclaims she'll live with a blade "in my side", as an act of defiance.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
The outpouring of these years, which took place in defiance of his stark physical decline, is on encyclopedic display.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Leo recently warned the group against moving forward with its plans to consecrate the bishops in open defiance of his authority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
The wave of my defiance began to ebb.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
The Defiance Connective Technologies ETF follows a modified weighting strategy.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026
A proxy for that is the Defiance Large Cap ex-Mag 7 ETF, which I wrote about at its launch in October 2024 and which owns all the stocks in the S&P 500 except those seven.
From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026
The following excerpt is adapted from Chapter 3 of Tyler’s memoir, Stitching Freedom: A True Story of Injustice, Defiance, and Hope, published by One Signal Publishers and set for release on Tuesday.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2025
Defiance Daily Target 2X Long RGTI, which aims to double the daily return of quantum-computer firm Rigetti Computing, is up roughly 1,000%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025
He had briefly gone to jail at the beginning of the Defiance Campaign.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
