Synonyms
Examples of defy in a Sentence
Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
Elon Musk said Sunday that X would defy an order by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to block some accounts amid a growing confrontation between the social media company and the country’s judiciary over free speech and misinformation.
—Niha Masih, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
Personal flying vehicles defy simple classification, which may be part of their allure.
—Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
The pianist Alice Sara Ott, who makes her New York Philharmonic debut this week, is upending concert culture — and defying stereotypes about multiple sclerosis.
—Javier C. Hernández, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Thank you to Rosetta Tharpe, Miss Tracy Chapman, Linda Martell, Prince, Stevie Wonder, André 3000, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, and so many more who defied any label placed upon them.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024
The economy's resilience over the past two years has repeatedly defied predictions that the ever-higher borrowing rates the Fed engineered to fight inflation would lead to waves of layoffs and probably a recession.
—Paul Wiseman, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
Their campaign for the playoffs will be the talk of the town, defying polls and pundits alike!
—Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 27 Mar. 2024
Filmmakers defy woke pieties and finally find apolitical humanity in Shirley Chisholm’s politics.
—Armond White, National Review, 27 Mar. 2024
Sebastian Blanco, Car and Driver, 8 Jan. 2023
Over the past few years, astronomers have uncovered about a dozen objects in the distant solar system that defy expectations.
—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 4 Oct. 2019
But so many gathering places in New York City defy categorization.
—Karrie Jacobs, Curbed, 18 July 2022
Ciara and Andreas defy categorization by being other worldly good looking with chaotic neutral personalities.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2022
Can Christian Pulisic — if healthy — and the young American squad defy odds again and knock off a soccer superpower in the Netherlands?
—Chris Ilenstine, Chicago Tribune, 2 Dec. 2022
The financial inclusivity scores for the U.S. defy categorization.
—Byseema Shah, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2022
But Curry has done nothing but defy odds his entire career.
—Gary Washburn, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Sep. 2022
The challenge for Democrats will be to maintain the energy for several more months and defy trends that typically trip up the party in power.
—Steve Peoples, Chicago Tribune, 3 Aug. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'defy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
Middle English defien "to renounce, disavow, scorn, challenge to fight," borrowed from Anglo-French defier, desfier, from de-, des- de- + fier "to pledge, trust in, rely on," going back to Vulgar Latin *fīdāre, re-formation of Latin fīdere "to trust (in), have confidence (in)" — more at faith entry 1
Note: The sense history was perhaps "to break faith with" > "to scorn" > "to challenge to a fight," though the latter meaning appears to be the earliest in Old French.
Noun
in part borrowed from Middle French deffy, noun derivative of defier "to challenge, defy entry 1," in part derivative of defy entry 1
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4
Noun
1580, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing defy
Dictionary Entries Near defy
Cite this Entry
“Defy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defy. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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More from Merriam-Webster on defy
Nglish: Translation of defy for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of defy for Arabic Speakers
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