on the defensive

1. Prepared for withstanding aggression or attack, as in The debate team's plan was to keep their opponents on the defensive, or This teacher put students on the defensive about their mistakes. [c. 1600]

Example Sentences

By the time Postecoglou faced the media before the Chelsea game he was firmly on the defensive.

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The Habsburg rulers who joined Spain and its colonies with the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe threw 16th-century France on the defensive.

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Cuomo sought to put Mamdani on the defensive by frequently bringing up past comments the front-runner made about the New York Police Department, including some in 2020 that labeled the department racist and antiqueer.

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By the end of the week, multiple agencies and unions, including SAG-AFTRA, chimed in with similar statements, marking a rare moment of consensus in Hollywood and putting OpenAI on the defensive.

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When Stewart first started training with Alexander, he was accustomed to dominating on the defensive line.

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Related Words

• anxious 
• apprehensive 
• cautious 
• edgy 
• nervous 
• uneasy