Contextualizebeta

defy

verb
/dɪˈfaɪ/

Etymology

From Old French desfier, from Vulgar Latin *disfidare (“renounce one's faith”), from Latin dis- (“away”) + fidus (“faithful”). Meaning shifted in the 14th century from "be disloyal" to "challenge". Contrast confide, fidelity, faith.

  1. derived from dis-
  2. derived from *disfidare✻
  3. derived from desfier

Definitions

  1. To challenge (someone) or brave (a hazard or opposition).

    • to defy an enemy; to defy the power of a magistrate; to defy the arguments of an opponent; to defy public opinion
    • I once again / Defie thee to the trial of mortal fight.

  2. To refuse to obey.

    • If you defy your teacher you may end up in detention.
    • Before coalition forces arrived, Iraq was ruled by a dictatorship that murdered its own citizens, threatened its neighbors, and defied the world.

  3. To not conform to or follow a pattern, set of rules or expectations.

  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with

      To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce.

      • 1603-1625, Beaumont and Fletcher For thee I have defied my constant mistress.
      • Dear perfum'd jackets, pennyless breeches; / Dutch flapdragons, healths in urine; / Drabs that keep a man too sure in: / I do defy you all. / Lend me each honest hand, for here I rise / A reclaim'd man, loathing the general vice.

    2. A challenge.

      • And, safe intrench'd within, her foes without defies

The neighborhood

Derived

death-defying, defiable, defier, defy belief, defyer, redefy, undefied

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at defy. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01defy02challenge03difficult04unwilling05reluctant06defiant07defies

A definitional loop anchored at defy. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at defy

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA