defiant

adjective

de·​fi·​ant di-ˈfī-ənt 

dē-

: full of or showing a disposition to challenge, resist, or fight : full of or showing defiance : bold, impudent

defiant rebels

a defiant refusal

Mantor struck a defiant pose, his chin out, and rocked for a moment on the heels of his boots.

—Christopher Ketcham

Synonyms

• balky
• contrary
• contumacious
• disobedient
• froward
• incompliant
• insubordinate
• intractable
• obstreperous
• rebel
• rebellious
• recalcitrant
• recusant
• refractory
• restive
• ungovernable
• unruly
• untoward
• wayward
• willful
• wilful

Examples of defiant in a Sentence

He's taken a defiant stand on the issue.

the defiant puppy refused to let go of the football

Recent Examples on the Web

The cream pies are made using mascarpone cheese — the same cheese used in tiramisu — imbibing them with a defiant silkiness. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 14 Mar. 2024

Photo: Film Movement In the final moments of the lovingly shot and ferociously defiant Under the Fig Trees, four young women crowd into a bathroom to get ready for the night ahead of them after hours of picking figs for measly wages under the hot Tunisian sun. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2024

The payoff is a wallop of a final deathbed scene, all at once brutal, stirringly defiant and poignant about the mysteries of identity and faith. —Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2024

Hours later, in an interview with Hamas’s al-Aqsa TV, a defiant Mr. Sinwar made a promise. —Adam Sella, New York Times, 26 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

in part borrowed from French défiant "mistrustful," from present participle of défier "to mistrust, challenge, defy entry 1," going back to Old French; in part from defi(ance) + -ant entry 2

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing defiant

• oppositional defiant disorder

Kids Definition

defiant

adjective

de·​fi·​ant di-ˈfī-ənt 

: full of or showing defiance : impudent, insolent

defiantly adverb