defy
Americanverb (used with object)
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defies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
defied,
past participle, past
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defying
present participle
-
to challenge the power of; resist boldly or openly.
Love drives the characters to ignore their family feud and defy parental authority.
The artist defies conventional categories by blending very different styles in her work.
-
to offer effective resistance to; make virtually impossible.
Their strategic position is helped by having a fort that defies attack.
The facts were so complex that they defied simple explanation.
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to challenge (a person) to do something deemed impossible.
They defied him to dive off the bridge.
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Archaic. to challenge to a combat or contest.
noun
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defies
plural
verb
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to resist (a powerful person, authority, etc) openly and boldly
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to elude, esp in a baffling way
his actions defy explanation
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formal to challenge or provoke (someone to do something judged to be impossible); dare
I defy you to climb that cliff
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archaic to invite to do battle or combat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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defiernoun
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predefyverb (used with object)
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redefyverb (used with object)
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defiableadjective
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undefiableadjective
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defyinglyadverb
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undefiablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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defysimple
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defiessimple
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have defiedperfect
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has defiedperfect
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am defyingprogressive
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are defyingprogressive
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is defyingprogressive
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have been defyingperfect progressive
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has been defyingperfect progressive
Past
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defiedsimple
-
had defiedperfect
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was defyingprogressive
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were defyingprogressive
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had been defyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of defy
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Middle English defien, Old French desfier, from des- dis- 1 + fier “to trust” (from Vulgar Latin fīdāre (unrecorded), from Latin fīdere; cf. fidelity ( def. ))
Explanation
To defy is to openly refuse to do something. You can defy the no-costumes-in-class rule if you wear your fairy wings to school, but just don’t try to defy the laws of gravity unless you can actually fly. If you deliberately break a rule or ignore an order, you defy, or resist, that rule. The word defy comes from the Latin word disfidare for "renounce one's faith." So if you're expected to be faithful to a certain law or rule but you refuse to be, you defy it. There are different ways to defy — defy your parents by staying out past curfew, or defy common sense by walking in with shoes on your head.
Vocabulary lists containing defy
The Cay
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I Am Malala
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Calls to defy the bans on protests in the city centre had circulated on social media.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
Those expectations at the moment are so low as to defy measurement.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026
The peptides are routinely used in “stacks”; chosen at random, with arbitrarily chosen doses; and two drugs from the same class may be included for reasons that defy explanation.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
Opponents of the deal, which a coalition of 12 states have sued to block on antitrust grounds, and even some supporters note that Ellison’s plan would defy a decadeslong trend of shrinking studio film slates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
If he was ordained, he would defy the edict, invoking the tenth commandment, which clearly said he was beholden to no laws beyond the ten—including any edicts levied by the Scythedom.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
"You have a perfect storm that defies antibiotics."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026
Zoe Kazan’s Cathy, which closely hews to Steinbeck’s original vision, defies easy assumptions about a woman’s wants and needs.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
In Sophocles, Antigone, Oedipus’ headstrong daughter, defies the edict issued by her uncle Creon, the newly deputized king, declaring that her slain brother Polynices is an enemy of the state and therefore ineligible for burial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
“The stellar performance defies concerns that competition with Anthropic and OpenAI is intensifying for enterprise AI workflows,” DiPalma said of Palantir’s earnings beat.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Politics can be strengthened by music, but music has a potency that defies politics.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
The two Arab party lists - The Joint List and the Ra'am - defied expectations to win a record 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset following a surge in turnout among Arab voters.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Iran has defied predictions that the blockade would collapse its economy and squeeze concessions on its nuclear program for more than six months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
But hundreds of young protesters defied the crackdown to march close to Connaught Place's Central Park, many of them waving flags in a show of defiance.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
BATH, Maine — Election after election, Republican Sen. Susan Collins has defied national political winds to return to office, representing a state that has backed Democrats in every presidential contest since 1992.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
I had openly defied one of the masters in front of his own class and avoided expulsion.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
The AI chip leader was defying the ongoing sector slump early Friday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Official figures showed the economy expanded by 0.1% in the month, defying analysts' expectations of a slight contraction.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
That speed comes in handy for a player who hits the ball on the ground more frequently than anyone, defying the all-out pursuit of elevation sweeping the industry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Disney is defying the theme-park industry’s summer slump by rolling out more promotions and package deals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
She famously refused to participate in the 1913 march unless she could walk under the Illinois banner—and she did so, defying the organizers’ plans.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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