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definitions

defensive

[dih-fen-siv]
|

adjective

noun

a position or attitude of defense: to be on the defensive about one's mistakes.
Obsolete. something that serves to defend.

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Nearby words

  1. defense,
  2. defense mechanism,
  3. defenseless,
  4. defenseman,
  5. defensible,
  6. defensive back,
  7. defensive circle,
  8. defensive driving,
  9. defensive medicine,
  10. defensively

Origin of defensive

1350–1400; < Medieval Latin dēfēnsīvus (see defense, -ive); replacing Middle English defensif < Middle French < Medieval Latin, as above
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for defensiveness

British Dictionary definitions for defensiveness

defensive

adjective

intended, suitable, or done for defence, as opposed to offence
rejecting criticisms of oneself or covering up one's failings

noun

a position of defence
on the defensive in an attitude or position of defence, as in being ready to reject criticism
Derived Formsdefensively, adverbdefensiveness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for defensiveness

defensive

c.1400 (adj. and noun), from French défensif (14c.), from Medieval Latin defensivus, from defens-, past participle stem of Latin defendere (see defend). Of persons, "alert to reject criticism," from 1919. Related: Defensively; defensiveness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with defensiveness

defensive

see on the defensive.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.