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

Trita Parsi from the Quincy Institute in Washington, an expert on Iran and U.S.-Israel relations, points out in an interview with Morning Edition's Leila Fadel that despite public defiance from the Netanyahu government, the U.S. has tremendous influence. —Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 19 Apr. 2024

But Muslims in Gaza are marking the holiday with a mix of apprehension and defiance. —Rob Picheta, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024

When a chance arose to join the Union in 1906, Arizonans turned it down; not because of a sense of independence or defiance. —Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024

But lawyers and academics say that the Utah law represents a new level of defiance of FDA. —Bymeredith Wadman, science.org, 1 Apr. 2024

Subjective terms lead to selective punishment States use different terms to describe the offenses – disrespect, insubordination, defiance – depending on their discipline code. —Meredith Kolodner, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024

Their presence represented a sign of defiance amid the harshest Kremlin crackdown on dissent in decades. —Bloomberg, Fortune Europe, 18 Mar. 2024

As the pressure has mounted, Ms. Willis has responded with fierce defiance. —Danny Hakim, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024

Winehouse’s defining album, Back to Black, sold more than 16 million copies worldwide, and her unique mix of jazz and soul with punk-era defiance would go on to influence artists like Adele, Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish. —Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 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

Phrases Containing defiance

• in defiance of

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