defiance

noun

de·​fi·​ance di-ˈfī-ən(t)s 

dē-

1

: the act or an instance of defying : challenge

jailed for defiance of a court order

2

: disposition to resist : willingness to contend or fight

dealing with a child's defiance

Phrases

in defiance of

: contrary to : despite

seemingly in defiance of the laws of physics

He returned to the pulpit May 22 in defiance of an order by church leaders banning him from television preaching for one year.

—Daniel E. Kubiske

Synonyms

• balkiness
• contrariness
• contumacy
• disobedience
• frowardness
• insubordination
• intractability
• obstreperousness
• rebellion
• rebelliousness
• recalcitrance
• refractoriness
• unruliness
• waywardness
• willfulness

Examples of defiance in a Sentence

any defiance of the authoritarian regime would have dire consequences

the troubled youth seems to have an ingrained defiance to authority of any sort

Recent Examples on the Web

The rocket lifted away slowly, as though in contemptuous defiance of physics. —David W. Brown, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2024

The defiance was already in evidence in an earlier, even more horrifying scene during an audition in which Terry is ordered to do the choreography that led to her onstage injury. —Mark Peikert, IndieWire, 28 Sep. 2024

The defiance heightened tensions in the civil rights movement. —Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 21 Sep. 2024

That’s why the punishment for Haiti’s defiance has been severe and long-lasting. —Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús / Made By History, TIME, 4 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English diffiaunce, defyaunce, borrowed from Anglo-French defiance, difiaunce, from defier, desfier "to renounce, challenge, defy entry 1" + -ance, -aunce -ance

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

defiance

noun

de·​fi·​ance di-ˈfī-ən(t)s 

1

: the act or an instance of defying : challenge

2

: a tendency to resist : contempt of opposition