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.
bid defiance to, to offer resistance; defy.
in defiance of, in spite of; notwithstanding.
There was a splendid audience in defiance of the rainstorm.
open or bold resistance to or disregard for authority, opposition, or power
a challenging attitude or behaviour; challenge
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French; equivalent to defy + -ance
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I also mentioned an exchange-trade fund called Defiance Quantum, which is up 107% since then, versus 27% for the S&P 500.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
The Defiance Connective Technologies ETF follows a modified weighting strategy.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 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
I began by speaking about the increasing repressiveness of the government in the wake 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.
