defensiveness

American  

[dih-fen-siv-nis] / dɪˈfɛn sɪv nɪs /

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.

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Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of defensiveness

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

defensiveness

An always-on AI clone is that defensiveness disguised as cool innovation.

From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026

Ms. Hughes plays Ruth with a combative defensiveness, and not a little contempt, as she listens with incredulity to Jay’s obvious ignorance of the Troubles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026

But he said their stance "began to calcify into a sort of defensiveness".

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026

“At a moment when public trust is already shaken, doubling down with defensiveness only deepens the concern Angelenos have about accountability at LA28.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026

Tuve’s indignation revived Lawrence’s defensiveness: “It would seem,” Ernest replied, “that you are overstating things a bit with the remark that you are unable to check a single one of our observations.”

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik