defensiveness

[dih-fen-siv-nis]

noun

1. excessive concern with guarding against the real or imagined threat of criticism, injury to one’s ego, exposure of one’s shortcomings, etc..

   Employee defensiveness may be reduced by moving the focus of the conversation from the person to the behaviors.

2. the condition of being abnormally sensitive to certain stimuli, leading to avoidance or overreaction.

   Sensory defensiveness often takes the form of increased negative reactivity to noises from fans, clocks, car doors, etc.

3. the state or condition of being prepared to defend against attack from an enemy.

   A military adviser’s job involves improving a nation's army and overall defensiveness against foreign attackers.

Other Word Forms

• nondefensiveness noun
• overdefensiveness noun
• semidefensiveness noun
• undefensiveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of defensiveness¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; defensive ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

Example Sentences

Similarly, Klayman’s research shows that backward-looking criticism can often trigger defensiveness, which interferes with the desire to improve, as opposed to focusing on plans for improvement.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While the “debasement trade” and investor defensiveness helped push the metals rally, Razaqzada pointed out that several factors eased that defensiveness this week.

Read more on MarketWatch

Orange County’s new sophistication ought to be above rivalry, but a touch of parochial defensiveness remains.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And in other allegations, the complaint accuses the board of presiding over "an internal culture that has become defined by fear and defensiveness".

Read more on BBC

As usual with racist conspiracists, the psychological motivation is a combination of sublimated shame and defensiveness, manifesting in a victim complex.

Read more on Salon