defiance
- noun
- /dɪˈfaɪəns/
- He is here tonight to show his courage, his defiance against somebody who tried to kill him.
- act of defiance
- defiance of authority
- defiance of the law
So my whole early childhood was shame and then defiance.
- So my whole early childhood was shame and then defiance.
- And that was more about defiance and celebration of who you can be in life.
- Finding your layers and gluing them back on is an act of defiance, of rebellion, and of salvation.
- Experiencing joy is an act of defiance.
- But the other reason I love telling their story, there's two reasons other than their kind of incredible defiance in that courtroom.
- He didn't win the popular vote, but he still he he won a lot and in defiance of what pollsters and pundits had imagined he would do.
- And there is something about that struggle with the defiance and the withholding of the truth.
Examples
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This small act of defiance gives voice to the voiceless.
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If we allow defiance today, tomorrow it becomes violence.
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Yeah, they, I mean, just open, open defiance and then yeah, 'cause why not?
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But that defiance and challenge was part of that spirit.
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You say nothing, but I see defiance in your eyes.
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His every victory is an act of defiance.
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In response to the Youth League's call for direct action, the Defiance Campaign of 1952 was launched.
Academic text (1991) -
The whole Holy Week story shows Christ's deliberate defiance of the existing social and religious life.
Academic text (2017) -
Both Saint Thomas More and Dr. King rejected the path of defiance, evasion, and subversion of the law.
Academic text (2008) -
The protestors showed open defiance by refusing to follow the new law.
Synonyms
The act of resisting an idea, plan, or change
Refusal to accept a change or new rule
When people refuse to obey authority or rules
Refusing to obey rules or people in charge
Refusing to obey orders or respect a person in charge
Refusing to follow some laws as a peaceful protest against unfair government actions
A strong wish not to follow rules or authority
A way of opposing a government without using violence, for example by refusing to obey laws
A disagreement with a government or its rules
Antonyms
How Defiant
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word defiance comes from an old idea meaning 'not trust' and has the root fid meaning 'trust', just like in faith. So to show defiance is to refuse to accept or obey someone, which is why it means 'open resistance'.