to resist (a powerful person, authority, etc) openly and boldly to elude, esp in a baffling way to challenge or provoke (someone to do something judged to be impossible); dare to invite to do battle or combat
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
de•fy /dɪˈfaɪ/USA pronunciation
v., -fied, -fy•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- [ ~ + obj] to challenge the power of;
resist boldly or openly:They seemed to enjoy defying my authority. - [ ~ + 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.
- to offer resistance to;
withstand: [~ + object]The plane seems to defy gravity.[ ~ + obj + to + verb]:The problem defies all attempts to solve it.
de•fy
(v. di fī′;n. di fī′, dē′fī),USA pronunciation v., -fied, -fy•ing, n., pl. -fies.
v.t.
n.
de•fi′a•ble, adj.
de•fy′ing•ly, adv.
v.t.
- to challenge the power of;
resist boldly or openly:to defy parental authority. - to offer effective resistance to:a fort that defies attack.
- to challenge (a person) to do something deemed impossible:They defied him to dive off the bridge.
- [Archaic.]to challenge to a combat or contest.
n.
- 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•fy′ing•ly, adv.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged dare, brave, flout, scorn.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'defy' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):