defiantly

[dih-fahy-uhnt-lee]

adverb

1. with daring or bold resistance to authority.

   In a fearless display, protesters chanted defiantly at police: "Come and shoot us with your tear gas!"

Other Word Forms

• half-defiantly adverb
• nondefiantly adverb
• overdefiantly adverb
• quasi-defiantly adverb
• undefiantly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of defiantly¹

defiant ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Former Ivory Coast First Lady Simone Gbagbo has gone from hiding in a bunker in an attempt to avoid arrest to defiantly announcing she will run for president.

From BBC

"The Russians... still impose the idea of 'exchanging' Ukrainian territory for Ukrainian territory, with consequences that guarantee nothing but more convenient positions for the Russians to resume the war," he added defiantly.

From BBC

The great writer, James Joyce, rejected any identity built around "nationality, language, religion" and defiantly vowed to "fly by those nets".

From BBC

We witness reverent preparation, much ceremony and more blood than any slasher film, and eventually absorb the unmistakable sense that this macho performative world exists almost defiantly against anyone’s notion of “progress.”

From Los Angeles Times

"It might be the last thing you'd do, but it was something I did," Erin defiantly replied from the witness stand.

From BBC