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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

Of the 300,000 Chinese people who entered in defiance of that extraordinary restriction, historians believe the majority were boys and men posing as the children of natural-born citizens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

They make the point that Presley’s music isn’t unique in this regard, alleging that Anthropic has done pretty much the same thing with all manner of recorded music, in blatant defiance of copyright law.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

Once again, she opted for a message of defiance.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

In July, a fragile 2022 truce fell apart after the Houthis allowed an Iranian plane to land in Yemen's capital Sanaa in defiance of Riyadh's control over Yemeni airspace, setting off a spate of attacks.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

He faced the men in defiance, something Pax had never seen Peter do, and raised his fist and shook it at them.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

The Defiance Connective Technologies ETF follows a modified weighting strategy.

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

Defiance was not a dish he tasted often.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

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Related Words

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

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