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- Dictionarydefy/dɪˈfʌɪ/
verb
- 1. openly resist or refuse to obey: "a woman who defies convention" Similar Opposite
- 2. appear to be challenging (someone) to do or prove something: "he glowered at her, defying her to mock him" Similar
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DEFY definition: 1. to refuse to obey a person, decision, law, situation, etc.: 2. to be extreme or very strange…. Learn more.
1. : to confront with assured power of resistance : disregard. defy public opinion. in trouble for defying a court order. 2. : to resist attempts at : withstand. the paintings defy classification. a decision that defies all logic. 3. : to challenge to do something considered impossible : dare. defied us to name a better movie. 4.
to refuse to obey or to do something in the usual or expected way: They defied an evacuation order and stayed in town during the hurricane. He defied the odds (= did what no one expected) and won the race for mayor.
Defy definition: to challenge the power of; resist boldly or openly. See examples of DEFY used in a sentence.
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.
I defy anyone not to cry at the end of the film. I defy you to leave without buying something. Definition of defy verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
1. to resist (a powerful person, authority, etc) openly and boldly. 2. to elude, esp in a baffling way: his actions defy explanation. 3. formal to challenge or provoke (someone to do something judged to be impossible); dare: I defy you to climb that cliff. 4. (Military) archaic to invite to do battle or combat.
defy. verb. /dɪˈfaɪ/ Verb Forms. defy somebody/something to refuse to obey or show respect for someone in authority, a law, a rule, etc. I wouldn't have dared to defy my teachers. Hundreds of people today defied the ban on political gatherings. Take your English to the next level.
If you defy someone or something that is trying to make you behave in a particular way, you refuse to obey them and behave in that way.
Definitions of 'defy'. 1. If you defy someone or something that is trying to make you behave in a particular way, you refuse to obey them and behave in that way. [...] 2. If you defy someone to do something, you challenge them to do it when you think that they will be unable to do it or too frightened to do it. [...]
