defensive
/dɪˈfɛn.sɪv/ adjective C1- Intended for defence; protective. · a defensive perimeter
- Intended to deter attack. · a defensive missile system
- Performed so as to minimise risk. · defensive driving
- Displaying an inordinate sensitivity to criticism or intrusion; oversensitive; thin-skinned.
- Of a bowling or fielding tactic designed to prevent the other side from scoring runs; of a batting tactic designed to prevent being out.
- Pertaining to defense, as opposed to attack. · The victim held up his hand to repel the attacker and received a defensive knife wound.
- In a state or posture of defense.
From the library
“Threats!” cried the jailer, retreating and putting himself on the defensive; “you are certainly going mad.
Science becomes, in their hands, not only a defensive weapon, but still more frequently an offensive one; the one serves against all their physical sufferings, the other against all their enemies.
She did not draw traditional offensive plays or defensive strategies on the smooth surface.
Researchers discovered that when individuals feel stripped of their privacy, they tend to withdraw socially as a defensive coping mechanism.
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