defiantly

adverb

de·​fi·​ant·​ly di-ˈfī-ənt-lē How to pronounce defiantly (audio)
dē-
: in a defiant manner : in a way that is full of or shows a disposition to challenge, resist, or fight
She spoke out defiantly against the proposed law.
As his empire crumbled amid the … scandal, he defiantly refused a graceful exit.Jonathan Alter
Though restrained, the women do not lack independence, and they wag their tongues as defiantly as ever.Jason Farago

Examples of defiantly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This is a movie that defiantly refuses to ask us to take a stand in a polarized society, but rather consider that nothing is necessarily black and white, only shades of gray. Pete Hammond, Deadline, 18 May 2026 But the window that Pawlikowski chooses for Fatherland is defiantly compact, a stretch of time that the director compresses even more to place the suicide of Erika’s brother Klaus, which happened in the south of France two months before, within the space of the trip. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 May 2026 In its three-part structure, notched at the top with the title, the banner seems defiantly modeled after the dismantled People’s Justice (2002) banner, as well as a Palestinian flag. Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 12 May 2026 The trailers lean hard into cinephile in-jokes, typically riffing on film history before colliding those references with the realities of running a defiantly non-mainstream festival. Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for defiantly

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of defiantly was in 1847

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Defiantly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defiantly. Accessed 20 May. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster