Synonyms

defy

American

[dih-fahy, dee-] / dɪˈfaɪ, di- /

verb (used with object)

defied, defying

to challenge the power of; resist boldly or openly.

Love drives the characters to ignore their family feud and defy parental authority.
The artist defies conventional categories by blending very different styles in her work.

Synonyms:

scorn, flout, brave, dare
to offer effective resistance to; make virtually impossible.

Their strategic position is helped by having a fort that defies attack.
The facts were so complex that they defied simple explanation.
to challenge (a person) to do something deemed impossible.

They defied him to dive off the bridge.
Archaic. to challenge to a combat or contest.

noun

plural

defies

a challenge; a defiance.

defy British

/ dɪˈfaɪ /

verb

to resist (a powerful person, authority, etc) openly and boldly
to elude, esp in a baffling way

his actions defy explanation
formal to challenge or provoke (someone to do something judged to be impossible); dare

I defy you to climb that cliff
archaic to invite to do battle or combat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

defiable adjective
defier noun
defyingly adverb
predefy verb (used with object)
redefy verb (used with object)
undefiable adjective
undefiably adverb

Etymology

Origin of defy

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Middle English defien, Old French desfier, from des- dis- ¹ + fier “to trust” (from Vulgar Latin fīdāre (unrecorded), from Latin fīdere; fidelity ( def. ) )

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023