defied; defying
1
: to confront with assured power of resistance : disregard
defy public opinion
in trouble for defying a court order
2
: to resist attempts at : withstand
the paintings defy classification
a decision that defies all logic
3
: to challenge to do something considered impossible : dare
defied us to name a better movie
4
archaic
: to challenge to combat
plural defies
Examples of defy in a Sentence
Verb
She defied her parents and dropped out of school.
The group has continued to defy all efforts to stop them.
Recent Examples on the Web
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
2 July 2026
That’s a genre-defying triumph that a bigger distributor, like Amazon MGM, might have had a harder time promoting.
—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
2 July 2026
These changes are the result of fierce competition between a handful of major brands, each pushing the game, and the athletes’ speed, power, and physics-defying spin, forward.
—
Mack Degeurin,
Popular Science,
2 July 2026
CoRoT 2b defies this expectation too, possessing a hotspot in the opposite direction of its orbit.
—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
1 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for defy
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Verb
But yesterday, the group defied Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without his approval.
—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
2 July 2026
That’s a genre-defying triumph that a bigger distributor, like Amazon MGM, might have had a harder time promoting.
—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
2 July 2026
These changes are the result of fierce competition between a handful of major brands, each pushing the game, and the athletes’ speed, power, and physics-defying spin, forward.
—
Mack Degeurin,
Popular Science,
2 July 2026
CoRoT 2b defies this expectation too, possessing a hotspot in the opposite direction of its orbit.
—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
1 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for defy
Cite this Entry
“Defy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defy. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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