defy
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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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.
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to challenge (a person) to do something deemed impossible.
They defied him to dive off the bridge.
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Archaic. to challenge to a combat or contest.
noun
verb
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to resist (a powerful person, authority, etc) openly and boldly
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to elude, esp in a baffling way
his actions defy explanation
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formal to challenge or provoke (someone to do something judged to be impossible); dare
I defy you to climb that cliff
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archaic to invite to do battle or combat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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defiernoun
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predefyverb (used with object)
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redefyverb (used with object)
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defiableadjective
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undefiableadjective
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defyinglyadverb
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undefiablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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defysimple
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defiessimple
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have defiedperfect
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has defiedperfect
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am defyingprogressive
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are defyingprogressive
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is defyingprogressive
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have been defyingperfect progressive
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has been defyingperfect progressive
Past
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defiedsimple
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had defiedperfect
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was defyingprogressive
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were defyingprogressive
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had been defyingperfect progressive
Future
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; cf. fidelity ( def. ))
Explanation
To defy is to openly refuse to do something. You can defy the no-costumes-in-class rule if you wear your fairy wings to school, but just don’t try to defy the laws of gravity unless you can actually fly. If you deliberately break a rule or ignore an order, you defy, or resist, that rule. The word defy comes from the Latin word disfidare for "renounce one's faith." So if you're expected to be faithful to a certain law or rule but you refuse to be, you defy it. There are different ways to defy — defy your parents by staying out past curfew, or defy common sense by walking in with shoes on your head.
Vocabulary lists containing defy
The Cay
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I Am Malala
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
County, the Sheriff’s Department has continued to defy the subpoena, relying on the advice of county attorneys, Johnson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
And one of their arguments at the time was that the role of the Supreme Court is to enforce federal law; it is not to defy federal law.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Those who want to defy us militarily simply ignore what is negotiated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Monroe’s personal legacy is like a charm bracelet hung with more unsubstantiated rumors than genuine facts, but one undeniable trait was her thirst to defy the world’s expectations.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
“You have seen things that defy belief, have you not?”
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Because it was his favorite kind of question: one that is simple to state yet defies a simple answer.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026
There is always at least one team that defies the odds and emerges as the surprise package of a World Cup.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
To have a company that has lost more than $8.5 billion over the past three years potentially carry a valuation north of $1.5 trillion certainly defies typical valuation metrics.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
From his cell, Jin has sought to energize his congregants, reminding them of ideals that have outlasted political regimes for centuries as he defies Xi’s pursuit of total ideological control.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Otto said, “He looks just like you. You not knowing each other defies all deductions.”
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
By chance, a BBC Wales camera crew had defied instructions to cease filming,, external and so the moment was preserved for all time as Sobers launched six successive deliveries over the ropes.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
China’s exports defied forecasts of a slowdown, providing a vital boost to an economy still weighed down by weak domestic demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Like he cannot believe this wonderful thing that has just happened even if he was the one who sweat and ran and defied physics to make it happen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Almost 1.2 million undocumented migrants have sought legal status in Spain under a scheme that has defied a growing European crackdown on irregular immigration, according to final figures released on Thursday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
The weight of him, the prevention of his misery, was the answer that defied all logic.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
Tens of thousands of young men and women had turned up for Monday's protest and tried to march on parliament, defying a police ban.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Doing this at the age of 39 is almost defying the law of physics.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
China’s exports surged more than expected in June, defying forecasts of a slowdown and providing a vital boost to an economy still weighed down by weak domestic demand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
But the seventh-seeded Serb has a way of defying Father Time and he has had two days to recover on a surface where points are shorter and generally less taxing on the body.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
She had shared her husband’s idea of people defying their own destiny.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.