defy

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/dɪˈfaɪ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/dɪˈfaɪ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(v. di fī; n. di fī, dēfī)

Inflections of 'defy' (n): npl: defies
Inflections of 'defy' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
defies
v 3rd person singular
defying
v pres p
defied
v past
defied
v past

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
de•fy /dɪˈfaɪ/USA pronunciation   v., -fied, -fy•ing. 
  1. [ + obj] to challenge the power of;
    resist boldly or openly:They seemed to enjoy defying my authority.
  2. [ + obj + to + verb] to challenge (a person) to do something thought of as impossible:I defy you to tell the difference between these two brands.
  3. to offer resistance to;
    withstand: [+ object]The plane seems to defy gravity.[ + obj + to + verb]:The problem defies all attempts to solve it.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
de•fy  (v. di fī;n. di fī, dēfī),USA pronunciation v., -fied, -fy•ing, n., pl. -fies. 
v.t. 
  1. to challenge the power of;
    resist boldly or openly:to defy parental authority.
  2. to offer effective resistance to:a fort that defies attack.
  3. to challenge (a person) to do something deemed impossible:They defied him to dive off the bridge.
  4. [Archaic.]to challenge to a combat or contest.

n. 
  1. a challenge;
    a defiance.
  • Vulgar Latin *fīdāre, variant of Latin fīdere
  • Old French desfier, equivalent. to des- dis-1 + fier to trust
  • Middle English defien 1250–1300
de•fia•ble, adj. 
de•fying•ly, adv. 
    • 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged dare, brave, flout, scorn.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
defy / dɪˈfaɪ/ ( -fies, -fying, -fied)(transitive)
  1. to resist (a powerful person, authority, etc) openly and boldly
  2. to elude, esp in a baffling way
  3. to challenge or provoke (someone to do something judged to be impossible); dare
  4. to invite to do battle or combat
( -fies)
  • a defiant challenge
  • Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French desfier, from des- de- + fier to trust, from Latin fīderedeˈfier
    'defy' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
    Collocations: defy the [rules, law], defy my [wishes, authority, commands, power], [tried, attempted, dared] to defy his [wishes], more...

    Forum discussions with the word(s) "defy" in the title:


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