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• defiance
  defiance

  noun

  a daring or bold resistance to authority or to any opposing force.
• Defiance
  Defiance

  noun

  a city in NW Ohio.

defiance

¹ American  

[dih-fahy-uhns] / dɪˈfaɪ əns /

noun

1. a daring or bold resistance to authority or to any opposing force.

2. open disregard; contempt (often followed byof ).

   defiance of danger; His refusal amounted to defiance.

3. a challenge to meet in combat or in a contest.

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idioms

1. bid defiance to, to offer resistance; defy.

2. 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

1. a city in NW Ohio.

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defiance British  

/ dɪˈfaɪəns /

noun

1. open or bold resistance to or disregard for authority, opposition, or power

2. a challenging attitude or behaviour; challenge

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defiance More Idioms  

1. see in defiance of.

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Other Word Forms

• nondefiance
  noun
• predefiance
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of defiance

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French; equivalent to defy + -ance

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

defiance Defiance

But hundreds of young protesters defied the crackdown to march close to Connaught Place's Central Park, many of them waving flags in a show of defiance.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Across an itinerant urgency of walks, drives, embraces, laughs, threats, nervy meetings, shared meals, phone calls and tearful testimony, Loktev’s immersive portrait of roving defiance is as necessary as nonfiction gets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Since then, many women and girls have stopped covering their hair in public altogether in open defiance of the dress code.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

Some sent in Oreos in an act of defiance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

His song in the Tower had been defiance rather than hope; for then he was thinking of himself.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien

These are the largest 15 holdings of the Defiance Connective Technologies ETF:

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

Each man was physically examined at Fort Defiance Public Health Service and carefully questioned to be sure he was really able to speak both Navajo and English fluently.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac

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Related Words

• confrontation
• contempt
• opposition
• provocation
• rebellion
• spite

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