defy
dih-FY
/dɪˈfaɪ/
To openly resist or refuse to obey a person, rule, or authority; to challenge someone to do something deemed impossible.
Defy implies an open, often bold or proud refusal to submit. It is highly visible and directly challenges the authority's power to enforce its rules.
The story behind the word. In medieval times, to 'defy' someone was to formally renounce your oath of fealty or friendship to them. It was a serious declaration that you no longer trusted them and were ready to fight.
Word relationships
- resist: Resist can be passive or active, physical or mental, whereas defy specifically implies a bold, open challenge to authority.
- flout: Flout means to treat a rule with contemptuous disregard, while defy is a more direct, confrontational refusal to obey.
- obey: Obey means to carry out the commands or instructions of an authority.
- submit: Submit means to yield to the authority or will of another.
Commonly confused with
- deify: Deify means to worship or treat someone as a god, while defy means to challenge or resist.
Word family
- defiance (noun): Open resistance; bold disobedience.
- defiant (adjective): Showing open resistance; disobedient.
Collocations
- defy gravity
- defy authority
- defy expectations
- openly defy
Idioms & expressions
- defy description
Example sentences
- "I defy the Pope, and all his laws, and if God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scripture than thou dost." A historical challenge to religious authority.
Memory hook
To defy is to say 'No, I won't comply!' Defy is a giant 'DE-ny' of authority.
When not to use
Do not use defy when the resistance is hidden or secretive. If you are quietly breaking a rule without anyone knowing, you are 'evading' or 'subverting' it, not defying it.
Fun facts
- In physics, we often say objects 'defy gravity,' which treats gravity as a ruling authority that is being boldly disobeyed.
Related words
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