defiance

noun

di-ˈfī-ən(t)s How to pronounce defiance (audio)
Definition of defiancenext
1
as in rebellion
refusal to obey any defiance of the authoritarian regime would have dire consequences

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in opposition
the inclination to resist the troubled youth seems to have an ingrained defiance to authority of any sort

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3
as in aggression
an inclination to fight or quarrel a deeply troubled person who seemed the very soul of defiance

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of defiance The plotters could not stop the news of Yeltsin’s defiance from spreading, and the coup collapsed within three days. — Seva Gunitsky, Foreign Affairs, 1 Oct. 2026 Unlike under his family’s 54-year police state – where public defiance could mean prison, torture, disappearance or death – they were allowed to go home. — Tala Alrajjal, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026 Her Easter Sunday performance at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 in front of 75,000 spectators remains a touchstone of defiance in an age of racial violence. — Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026 Her decision to so publicly criticize him was a rare instance of GOP defiance, especially in her district, which Trump carried by more than a dozen points two years ago. — Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for defiance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defiance
  1. rebellion
  2. opposition
  3. aggression
  4. willfulness
  5. resistance
  6. aggressiveness
  7. rebelliousness
  8. objection
Noun
  • At this point, my rebellion had evolved to become more than just a quiet resistance.
    — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • In such trivial moments of rebellion, the seeds of resistance are sown.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of rebellion
Noun
  • According to the producers, Casparina was in Beijing representing Indonesia at an international forum when her citizenship was revoked over her opposition to the new regime.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Democrats must decide whether to take the deal in front of them or, possibly with a congressional majority next year, craft a version more to their liking that may be met with staunch GOP opposition and, thus, gridlock purgatory yet again.
    — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of opposition
Noun
  • On the contrary, airpower remains the most potent piece of the United States’ conventional forces, as well as its main source of both deterrent capacity and warfighting advantage against conventional aggression by hostile states.
    — Justin Bronk, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Publicly sharing Hasan’s death is unlikely to deter future acts of monstrous aggression, as Hegseth claims.
    — Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of aggression
Noun
  • From grandmother to grandchild, these three sets of two sisters were powerful characters possessed with passion, willfulness, bravery, and devotion to each other.
    — Griffin Dunne, Vanity Fair, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Those leaders who ignore or flout the law aren’t merely unethical but fatally arrogant, putting their childish willfulness over the wisdom of generations.
    — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
Definition of willfulness
Noun
  • Slota’s stated contempt for law enforcement and support for armed resistance was on display before his arrest.
    — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Through their grief and persistence, the film explores memory, resistance and a wound left open by institutional neglect.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of resistance
Noun
  • Furthermore, CNNs are exceeding in disease detection and predicting disease aggressiveness and patient prognosis.
    — Esha Desai, Hartford Courant, 4 Oct. 2026
  • So will the aggressiveness of the defender after giving up a rebound.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of aggressiveness
Noun
  • The stigma helped imprint a stamp of rebelliousness on the brand which lives on today, says Carpenter, even as Burton has become a fixture on resort slopes across the world and within the annals of Olympian history.
    — Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Whether writing five decades ago or today, the genre’s most insightful commentators have always observed how punk fuses rebelliousness with commodification, capitalism with resistance.
    — Kyle Devine, Longreads, 14 July 2026
Definition of rebelliousness
Noun
  • However, he was removed from the 2022 ballot after an Illinois election board upheld an objection to his campaign.
    — Elena Tittel, Chicago Tribune, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The council said its objection is in response to Bocelli’s past support for Israel, including his participation in a 2010 fundraiser in Los Angeles for the Israel Defense Forces and a 2022 concert in Tel Aviv.
    — Niniek Karmini, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of objection

Phrases Containing defiance

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defer (to)
defiance
defiances
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Cite this Entry

“Defiance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defiance. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about defiance

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