How to Use defiance in a Sentence
defiance
noun-
At that, James stormed out of the house and peed on his bushes in defiance.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 7 Feb. 2024
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In defiance of such protests, the Eiffel Tower did see the light of day and has stood the test of time.
—Melissa Locker, Travel + Leisure, 20 June 2023
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The courage required for such defiance is the salient point.
—Rachel Hadas, The Conversation, 8 July 2022
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That leaves tens of millions who have yet to get a shot in the arm, some of them out of defiance.
—Ed White, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Nov. 2021
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The city was forced to padlock the doors in the face of such defiance of rules and regulations.
—Siobhan McLaughlin, Sun Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2025
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When the judge ordered Shah to appear, the case was taken away from him, in defiance of the Supreme Court.
—Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
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At the close of the piece, the Jews rise up in defiance, singing in unison the Hebrew prayer Shema Yisrael.
—John Adams, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023
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By Tuesday, the protests were racing across the country, in a burst of grief, anger and defiance.
—Kareem Fahim, Washington Post, 21 Sep. 2022
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One of the plaintiffs who spoke with CNN asked to share her message as an act of defiance.
—Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, 14 June 2024
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Snow perceived the stunt with the force field as an act of defiance that made the Capitol look foolish.
—Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 6 June 2024
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Students at the school talked about Mr. James’s campaign with a mix of defiance — many rolled their eyes — and fear.
—New York Times, 8 May 2022
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Their decision to kiss in front of the preachers was not just an act of defiance, but a message to the world.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
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Their deep ties to their native land are built both of love and of bitter defiance.
—Kate Tsurkan, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2022
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But any sign of defiance had vanished by the time of his arraignment and not-guilty plea.
—Nicole Hemmer, CNN, 4 Apr. 2023
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What would Jerry Sloan have said about that kind of defiance?
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 23 Jan. 2022
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The Crown gives the Queen a bolder color palette and a look of defiance for one final send off.
—Ryan Fleming, Deadline, 16 June 2024
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But the defiance of this handful of Trump allies does pose a challenge for the panel.
—Zachary Cohen, CNN, 9 Dec. 2021
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And the on-the-nose name Ferrari chose for its newest GT speaks to its pride and defiance of industry trends.
—Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 2 May 2024
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Opinion: This Easter, hope is an act of will and a gesture of defiance.
—Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
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The camera roams from the top of their heads to their toes, wanders across their chests and backsides, soaking up the details of defiance.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2023
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The forest camp, on both sides of the river, exists in defiance of the state, but also at its mercy.
—Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2022
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There is a sense of defiance among many in the Jewish community here – not to give up and let fear win.
—Colette Davidson, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Oct. 2024
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As the cease-fire takes effect, Gaza is full of grief and defiance, guest columnist Emad Moussa writes.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2025
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But lawyers and academics say that the Utah law represents a new level of defiance of FDA.
—Bymeredith Wadman, science.org, 1 Apr. 2024
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At the heart of the theatrical endeavor, though, is a spirit of defiance in the face of a war that has taken so much from so many.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
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For Eric and his friends, just existing is a form of defiance.
—James Longman, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2023
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Finally Trump has to pay for his scheming and defiance of our laws.
—Letters To The Editor, Orange County Register, 7 June 2024
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The act of defiance served as a spark ton what would become the Arab Spring, in which numerous heads of state were forced out in uprisings.
—Hannah Allam, Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2024
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And also the Cold War, when punk bands on either side of the Wall made music in defiance of national aims.
—Jason Farago, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2024
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He must not be allowed to rot in an El Salvadorian jail based on lies and defiance of our Constitution.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'defiance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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