How to Use defy in a Sentence

defy

verb
Definition of defynext
Synonyms for defynext
  • She defied her parents and dropped out of school.
  • The group has continued to defy all efforts to stop them.
  • Their campaign for the playoffs will be the talk of the town, defying polls and pundits alike!
    — Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 27 Mar. 2024
  • But not Meta Platforms, which defied its peers and rose around 1.2%.
    — WSJ, 11 July 2023
  • Thirty years ago — and maybe even before and since — the boys of Carlsbad made a sport of defying death and the wrath of railroad law.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2023
  • For now, Labanc, a 2014 sixth-round draft pick by the Sharks who defied the odds to get this far, is talking like this is the end of his time in San Jose.
    — Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024
  • Now, against Cruz, who is seeking his third six-year term at 52, Allred is defying the odds again.
    — Luisita Lopez Torregrosa, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2023
  • But the subject defies her initial plan and becomes far more unsettling in the process.
    — Melissa Holbrook Pierson, Washington Post, 22 June 2023
  • The robots have, so far, not gone rogue, but few dare to defy Beyoncé.
    — Scottie Andrew, CNN, 17 May 2023
  • For many, summer fun means thrill rides rule that soar, swirl, and defy gravity.
    — Roxana Saberi, CBS News, 2 July 2023
  • And who even declares that the Fed has officially defied the odds and achieved a soft landing?
    — Bryan Mena, CNN, 6 Aug. 2023
  • To have done it while dealing with the emotions of his mother’s shooting death over the summer defies description.
    — Nathan Baird, cleveland, 17 Sep. 2023
  • Tweens will love to try new moves, impress their friends, and defy gravity, all in one afternoon.
    — Deanna McCormack, Parents, 19 Mar. 2024
  • Bald cypress trees defied nature, standing tall in the open water, anchored by their wide bases.
    — Bob Robinson, Arkansas Online, 19 June 2023
  • But just two weeks ago, their son, Nathaniel Grossman, defied all the odds by celebrating his first birthday.
    — Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 15 Dec. 2023
  • For more than a decade Rousteing has designed with the intention to defy fascist fantasies.
    — Killian Wright-Jackson, Essence, 1 Dec. 2023
  • So far, the U.S. economy has defied fears of a slowdown induced by high interest rates.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Restaurateur who defied covid rules presses his fight ‘till the end’ That never happened.
    — Teo Armus, Washington Post, 16 June 2023
  • But the city’s twin homelessness and migrant crises defy such neat packaging.
    — Eliza Shapiro, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2023
  • Sci-fi can be a tough genre in some markets, such as parts of Latin America, but Dune 2 could defy this trend based on the performance of the first film and stellar reviews.
    — Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Cher has been turning back time for decades, defying the march of the calendar pages with an eternally youthful look and sound.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 28 Nov. 2023
  • The Stroud story has some powerful lessons, most of all to keep our eyes open for the talent who defy conventional metrics.
    — Michael Fitzsimmons, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
  • But Tulare Lake farm barons defy calls to cut groundwater pumping.
    — Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2023
  • But the real crisis could come after the Supreme Court issues all three rulings, Fuchs said, if Netanyahu and his government choose to defy them.
    — Hadas Gold, CNN, 27 Sep. 2023
  • For 47 years, the long-running event has defied prejudice, stereotypes, and elitism to provide a snowy sanctuary for othered skiers.
    — Matt Kirouac, Travel + Leisure, 3 Jan. 2024
  • Although the trio sets out to break the curse and complete the film, their efforts soon spin into a surreal and supernatural chain of events that defy even their wildest dreams.
    — Time, 29 June 2023
  • Italy Behold the Wassily B3 Chair, the first successful cantilever chair that defied the four-legged standard.
    — Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 14 Aug. 2023
  • But a race against an incumbent who has defied political gravity before would have been a much tougher fight for the GOP.
    — Bridget Bowman, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2023
  • And although Beyoncé rang in the year with her new signature, platinum blonde moment, hair looks this week, on the other hand, defied trends.
    — India Espy-Jones, Essence, 5 Jan. 2024
  • Michael Jordan defying gravity toward the hoop and draining constant clutch shots in the playoffs.
    — Will Leitch, WSJ, 17 Nov. 2023

Some of 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.

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