How to Use defy in a Sentence

defy

1 of 2 verb

• She defied her parents and dropped out of school.
• The group has continued to defy all efforts to stop them.
• Their campaign for the playoffs will be the talk of the town, defying polls and pundits alike!
  — Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 27 Mar. 2024
• But not Meta Platforms, which defied its peers and rose around 1.2%.
  — WSJ, 11 July 2023
• Thirty years ago — and maybe even before and since — the boys of Carlsbad made a sport of defying death and the wrath of railroad law.
  — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2023
• For now, Labanc, a 2014 sixth-round draft pick by the Sharks who defied the odds to get this far, is talking like this is the end of his time in San Jose.
  — Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
• Now, against Cruz, who is seeking his third six-year term at 52, Allred is defying the odds again.
  — Luisita Lopez Torregrosa, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2023
• But the subject defies her initial plan and becomes far more unsettling in the process.
  — Melissa Holbrook Pierson, Washington Post, 22 June 2023
• The robots have, so far, not gone rogue, but few dare to defy Beyoncé.
  — Scottie Andrew, CNN, 17 May 2023
• For many, summer fun means thrill rides rule that soar, swirl, and defy gravity.
  — Roxana Saberi, CBS News, 2 July 2023
• And who even declares that the Fed has officially defied the odds and achieved a soft landing?
  — Bryan Mena, CNN, 6 Aug. 2023
• To have done it while dealing with the emotions of his mother’s shooting death over the summer defies description.
  — Nathan Baird, cleveland, 17 Sep. 2023
• Tweens will love to try new moves, impress their friends, and defy gravity, all in one afternoon.
  — Deanna McCormack, Parents, 19 Mar. 2024
• Bald cypress trees defied nature, standing tall in the open water, anchored by their wide bases.
  — Bob Robinson, Arkansas Online, 19 June 2023
• But just two weeks ago, their son, Nathaniel Grossman, defied all the odds by celebrating his first birthday.
  — Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 15 Dec. 2023
• For more than a decade Rousteing has designed with the intention to defy fascist fantasies.
  — Killian Wright-Jackson, Essence, 1 Dec. 2023
• So far, the U.S. economy has defied fears of a slowdown induced by high interest rates.
  — Max Zahn, ABC News, 5 Jan. 2024
• Restaurateur who defied covid rules presses his fight ‘till the end’ That never happened.
  — Teo Armus, Washington Post, 16 June 2023
• But the city’s twin homelessness and migrant crises defy such neat packaging.
  — Eliza Shapiro, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023
• Sci-fi can be a tough genre in some markets, such as parts of Latin America, but Dune 2 could defy this trend based on the performance of the first film and stellar reviews.
  — Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024
• Cher has been turning back time for decades, defying the march of the calendar pages with an eternally youthful look and sound.
  — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 28 Nov. 2023
• The Stroud story has some powerful lessons, most of all to keep our eyes open for the talent who defy conventional metrics.
  — Michael Fitzsimmons, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
• But Tulare Lake farm barons defy calls to cut groundwater pumping.
  — Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2023
• But the real crisis could come after the Supreme Court issues all three rulings, Fuchs said, if Netanyahu and his government choose to defy them.
  — Hadas Gold, CNN, 27 Sep. 2023
• For 47 years, the long-running event has defied prejudice, stereotypes, and elitism to provide a snowy sanctuary for othered skiers.
  — Matt Kirouac, Travel + Leisure, 3 Jan. 2024
• Although the trio sets out to break the curse and complete the film, their efforts soon spin into a surreal and supernatural chain of events that defy even their wildest dreams.
  — Time, 29 June 2023
• Italy Behold the Wassily B3 Chair, the first successful cantilever chair that defied the four-legged standard.
  — Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 14 Aug. 2023
• But a race against an incumbent who has defied political gravity before would have been a much tougher fight for the GOP.
  — Bridget Bowman, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2023
• And although Beyoncé rang in the year with her new signature, platinum blonde moment, hair looks this week, on the other hand, defied trends.
  — India Espy-Jones, Essence, 5 Jan. 2024
• Michael Jordan defying gravity toward the hoop and draining constant clutch shots in the playoffs.
  — Will Leitch, WSJ, 17 Nov. 2023

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defy

2 of 2 noun

• The contributors among those charged in the riot defy that.
  — Rachel Axon, USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2021
• The elms of Castine defy capture by an amateur like me.
  — Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2022
• The potential deals would boost the economy and defy predictions that remote work will kill offices.
  — Roland Li, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Nov. 2021
• Nostalgia for that hug makes many tango dancers, or tangueros, defy restrictions to dance in outdoor spaces.
  — Time, 15 June 2021
• But like crab and oysters, artichokes rest in a sort of alien realm where their distinct flavor and form defy neat categorization.
  — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 26 Apr. 2021
• In fact, given Black and Latino students’ persistent low achievement in math — and the techniques used in districts that have higher success rates — aspects of the change defy logic.
  — oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2022
• Middle powers like Turkey, Israel and Iran defy Brussels with little fear.
  — Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 28 Sep. 2020
• This feels like a real American family story with characters who have rough edges and defy stereotypes.
  — San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2022
• Characters and situations show up that defy explanation and add layers to the movie that don’t really go anywhere.
  — Weldon B. Johnson, The Arizona Republic, 29 July 2021
• Fragmentary glimpses from nearby blocks defy expectations, whipsawed slivers amid the stodgy norm.
  — John King, SFChronicle.com, 12 July 2020
• The reasons people are unvaccinated defy one easy explanation, but Russell said most are hesitant out of fear, but not staunchly against it.
  — Joe Mahr, chicagotribune.com, 20 Aug. 2021
• Finding characters who push boundaries or defy expectations is something Pedretti says she is drawn to and integral to the mission behind her work.
  — NBC News, 29 Oct. 2020
• Viewers hear stories of escape that defy explanation, and Harry Houdini pulls off escape acts.
  — Nina Zafar, Washington Post, 11 July 2020
• Throughout August, its theater, dance, cabaret, acrobatic and comic artists (plus performers that to some extent defy classification) can be enjoyed from your computer screen.
  — David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2020
• Fortunately, some qualities of the Gravity 9 defy experience and form.
  — Adam Chase, Outside Online, 3 Mar. 2020
• To produce acts that defy expectations, performances must consistently push the boundaries of imagination.
  — Karl Moore, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2022
• What’s happening right now, as recalcitrant witnesses like Steve Bannon defy subpoenas in a collective effort among Trump allies to sandbag the commission, should be instructive for the Biden administration.
  — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 19 Oct. 2021
• The contributors among those charged in the riot defy that.
  — Rachel Axon, USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2021
• The elms of Castine defy capture by an amateur like me.
  — Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2022
• The potential deals would boost the economy and defy predictions that remote work will kill offices.
  — Roland Li, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Nov. 2021
• Nostalgia for that hug makes many tango dancers, or tangueros, defy restrictions to dance in outdoor spaces.
  — Time, 15 June 2021
• But like crab and oysters, artichokes rest in a sort of alien realm where their distinct flavor and form defy neat categorization.
  — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 26 Apr. 2021
• In fact, given Black and Latino students’ persistent low achievement in math — and the techniques used in districts that have higher success rates — aspects of the change defy logic.
  — oregonlive, 4 Feb. 2022
• Middle powers like Turkey, Israel and Iran defy Brussels with little fear.
  — Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 28 Sep. 2020
• This feels like a real American family story with characters who have rough edges and defy stereotypes.
  — San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2022
• Characters and situations show up that defy explanation and add layers to the movie that don’t really go anywhere.
  — Weldon B. Johnson, The Arizona Republic, 29 July 2021
• Fragmentary glimpses from nearby blocks defy expectations, whipsawed slivers amid the stodgy norm.
  — John King, SFChronicle.com, 12 July 2020
• The reasons people are unvaccinated defy one easy explanation, but Russell said most are hesitant out of fear, but not staunchly against it.
  — Joe Mahr, chicagotribune.com, 20 Aug. 2021
• Finding characters who push boundaries or defy expectations is something Pedretti says she is drawn to and integral to the mission behind her work.
  — NBC News, 29 Oct. 2020
• Viewers hear stories of escape that defy explanation, and Harry Houdini pulls off escape acts.
  — Nina Zafar, Washington Post, 11 July 2020

Last Updated: 6 May 2024