defied

[dih-fahyd]

adjective

1. challenged or resisted boldly or openly; rebelled against.

   Both novels end with a degree of reconciliation and acceptance between the defied parent and the wayward child.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of defy.

Other Word Forms

• undefied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of defied¹

First recorded in 1810–20; defy ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective; defy ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb

Example Sentences

He defied widespread calls to step down and has been criticised for only showing up for one rally, spending most of the campaign period on a 10-day private trip to Europe.

Read more on BBC

"I told him not to go, he defied me and went, I was completely unaware of any statements that he made."

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The economy defied recession risks, of course, and the Fed began cutting rates in the autumn of 2024.

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She refused, and a week later thousands of people defied threats of arrest to attend his funeral in Moscow, some of them chanting “No to war” and “Putin is a murderer.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But the group, which has led demonstrations against the ban on Palestine Action, defied these calls and went ahead with the protest.

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Related Words

• confront 
• disregard 
• elude 
• flout 
• ignore 
• mock 
• oppose 
• provoke 
• resist 
• ridicule 
• spurn 
• thwart 
• violate 
• withstand