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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of defiance
The number of Iranians using Starlink, a satellite internet service engineered by SpaceX, has skyrocketed, as more than 100,000 people accessed the service in defiance of the government's internet restrictions, according to Iran International.
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Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
Savage, a transfer from Kansas State, said Lanning’s halftime message wasn’t one of defeat but of defiance.
—Christopher Kamrani, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
Netanyahu gave one of them, Bezalel Smotrich, the head of the Religious Zionist Party, control over most aspects of settlement, including granting legal status to outposts established in defiance of Israeli law.
—Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 19 Dec. 2024
Modi’s immense and sustained popularity is partly about his ability to project a kind of Churchillian defiance in the face of these threats.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for defiance 
Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
Savage, a transfer from Kansas State, said Lanning’s halftime message wasn’t one of defeat but of defiance.
—Christopher Kamrani, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
Netanyahu gave one of them, Bezalel Smotrich, the head of the Religious Zionist Party, control over most aspects of settlement, including granting legal status to outposts established in defiance of Israeli law.
—Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 19 Dec. 2024
Modi’s immense and sustained popularity is partly about his ability to project a kind of Churchillian defiance in the face of these threats.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 2 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for defiance
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defiance
Noun
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The resignation of one of his most loyal allies blindsided Trudeau and sparked a caucus rebellion.Amanda Coletta The Washington Post, arkansasonline.com, 7 Jan. 2025
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After their victories on the battlefield, American forces prevented a Filipino rebellion through psychological warfare, infiltration, surveillance, torture, extrajudicial executions, and the formation of native militias tasked with suppressing dissent.Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 7 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Trudeau has been under pressure as polls suggest the Liberal Party will suffer a heavy defeat to the Conservative opposition at the next Canadian elections.Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025
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Changes expected under Trump South Korea’s progressive opposition, which has made Yoon’s life miserable from parliament and is increasingly ascendant since the president’s power grab, historically has taken a harder line on Japan.Alena Botros, Fortune Asia, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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In his four years as secretary of state, Antony Blinken has traveled more than a million miles on the job, countering Russian aggression in Ukraine with a reinvigorated NATO alliance, and managing American interests in the ongoing turmoil across the Middle East.David Morgan, CBS News, 10 Jan. 2025
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Not just because of his physicality, aggression and reading of the game but because his work on the ball will have to improve significantly during his time at City.Sam Lee, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The history of Native resistance, the philosophy of love, the medicalization of madness, color in fairy tales, and dinosaur bones.JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025
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Both of those numbers suggest that today’s discount, with rates looking at a fair bit of upside resistance from here, is overdone.Brett Owens, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The film has been criticized for trafficking in clichés and gender stereotypes, for equating transitioning with death, for presenting it as a kind of moral redemption, for making older cisgender audiences feel virtuous by endorsing it, among other objections.Julian Sancton, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2025
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And appeals courts have upheld the gag order over Trump’s First Amendment objections.Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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On several occasions tensions between the two countries — NATO allies divided by deep historical antagonisms — have stirred powerful nationalist passions and brought them to the brink of hostilities.Alan Cowell, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
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In it, Elphaba and Galinda profess their undying friendship; suffice it to say that Grande found the notion of treating her co-star with violent hostility an acting challenge.Daniel D'Addario, Variety, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
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There was a celebration in the building on New Year’s Eve, with some strands apparently still stuck in the rafters — no disrespect to KU.Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 6 Jan. 2025
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The vast majority of females in the book are described with vulgar disrespect by the various characters and the narrator.Brittany Wallman, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
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In the past six years, Ohio has issued close to 885,000 suspensions and expulsions for comments and misbehaviors tagged as disobedience or disruption.Meredith Kolodner, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
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On the other, her disobedience results from her gullibility and erroneous reason.Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near defiance
Cite this Entry
“Defiance.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defiance. Accessed 19 Jan. 2025.
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