defy
/dɪˈfaɪ/ verb B2- To challenge (someone) or brave (a hazard or opposition). · to defy an enemy; to defy the power of a magistrate; to defy the arguments of an opponent; to defy public opinion
- To refuse to obey. · If you defy your teacher you may end up in detention.
- To not conform to or follow a pattern, set of rules or expectations.
He/she/it defies · Past defied · Past participle defied · -ing form defying
Verb forms
- Base form
- defy
- He/she/it
- defies
- Past
- defied
- Past participle
- defied
- -ing form
- defying
From the library
“Well, then, wretches,” cried Danglars, “I will defy your infamous calculations—I would rather die at once!
In a former letter he frankly informed me that the name was not his own, and defied me ever to trace him among the teeming millions of this great city.
A mass of straight black hair, defying all attempts to train or curl it, fell over his projecting forehead, and hung down to his shoulders, giving increased vivacity to eyes already sparkling with a youthful love of mischief and fondness for every forbidden enjoyment.
There is no gainsaying the fact that a very unfavorable construction would have been put upon the circumstance if the two women had gone without escort, while the addition of a third, in the person of her mother’s admitted lover, enabled Mademoiselle Danglars to defy malice and ill-nature.
Learn defy in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.