defy
verb (used with object)
to challenge the power of; resist boldly or openly.
had been defying
-
past perfect progressiveof defy.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Even before the announcement about the plan to lift the shelter-in-place order, more people had been defying it.
From Reuters ● Oct. 27, 2023
Then again, Katie Sowers had been defying expectations all her life.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 25, 2020
In the run-up to a driving protest she helped organize in October 2013, she told journalists she had been defying the driving ban for at least two years.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 23, 2018
But the way he had been behaving!—the way he had been defying mamma!—it was really ridiculous.
From The Coryston Family A Novel by Mrs. Humphry Ward
The Doge suddenly dropped on a bench, as if overcome by the weariness and depression of spirits that he had been defying; but there was something unyielding and indomitable in Mary's aspect.
From Over the Pass by Frederick Palmer
