defensive

[ dih-fen-siv ]

/ dɪˈfɛn sɪv /

adjective

serving to defend; protective: defensive armament.

made or carried on for the purpose of resisting attack: defensive treaty; a defensive attitude.

of or relating to defense.

(of stocks, securities, etc.)

able to provide moderately steady growth with minimal risk: The bank has put a large percentage of its assets in defensive rather than growth stocks.
considered stable and relatively safe for investment, especially during a decline in the economy.

excessively concerned with guarding against the real or imagined threat of criticism, injury to one's ego, or exposure of one's shortcomings.

noun

a position or attitude of defense: to be on the defensive about one's mistakes.

Obsolete. something that serves to defend.

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schlep

to say or do hesitantly or awkwardly

to fold or wind around something

to carry; lug

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Origin of defensive

1350–1400; < Medieval Latin dēfēnsīvus (see defense, -ive); replacing Middle English defensif < Middle French < Medieval Latin, as above

OTHER WORDS FROM defensive

de·fen·sive·ly, adverbde·fen·sive·ness, nounnon·de·fen·sive, adjectivenon·de·fen·sive·ly, adverb

non·de·fen·sive·ness, nouno·ver·de·fen·sive, adjectiveo·ver·de·fen·sive·ly, adverbo·ver·de·fen·sive·ness, nounsem·i·de·fen·sive, adjectivesem·i·de·fen·sive·ly, adverbsem·i·de·fen·sive·ness, nounun·de·fen·sive, adjectiveun·de·fen·sive·ly, adverbun·de·fen·sive·ness, noun

Words nearby defensive

defenestration, defense, defense mechanism, defenseman, defensible, defensive, defensive back, defensive circle, defensive driving, defensive medicine, defer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for non-defensive

It is a curious characteristic of the non-defensive disposition that it is like a honey-jar to flies.
Jennie Gerhardt|Theodore Dreiser

British Dictionary definitions for non-defensive

defensive

/ (dɪˈfɛnsɪv) /

adjective

intended, suitable, or done for defence, as opposed to offence

rejecting criticisms of oneself or covering up one's failings

noun

a position of defence

on the defensive in an attitude or position of defence, as in being ready to reject criticism

Derived forms of defensive

defensively, adverbdefensiveness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with non-defensive

defensive

see on the defensive.