JISUPOSTEnglish
ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Defiant

/dɪˈfaɪ(j)ənt/ · adjective

Meaning

Defying..

Definitions by Sense

  1. Defying.
  2. Boldly resisting opposition.
  3. One who defies opposition.

Example Sentences

She paused and took a defiant breath. ‘If you don't believe me, I can't help it. But I'm not a liar.’ ¶ ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough![…]What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’
But the demonstrators remained defiant, pouring into the streets by the thousands and venting their anger over political corruption, the high cost of living and huge public spending for the World Cup and the Olympics.
Gunshots rang out in the capital Abuja and also in the neighboring Niger state as police lobbed tear gas to disperse defiant protesters. In Niger, at least six people are now feared dead, local media reported.
Countries condemning South Africa, Portugal and Rhodesia still find it necessary to trade with these defiants against so-called world opinion.
Damn the obedients and hail the defiants if you will; the experiment does not motivate confidence about how particular subjects would behave in markedly dissimilar situations.

Synonyms for defiant

Antonyms for defiant

Related Words

Word Forms

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

What does defiant mean?

Defiant means Defying..

What is a synonym for defiant?

Common synonyms include dareful, rebellious, recalcitrant, truculent.

What is the opposite of defiant?

Possible antonyms include docile, obedient, submissive, dominant.

How do you use defiant in a sentence?

She paused and took a defiant breath. ‘If you don't believe me, I can't help it. But I'm not a liar.’ ¶ ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough![…]What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.