defiance
Other forms: defiances
Stand up when the powers that be order you to sit down, and you've given a fine example of defiance. It happens when someone or a group of someones openly flouts or challenges authority.
Refusing to go to bed when your parents tell you to? That's an act of defiance. Defiance comes from French — specifically to the Old French word defier, which means "to defy." (Don't mix it up with deify; that means to make someone or something into a god.) If you've ever studied Latin, you'll spot the fi in fidare, "to trust."
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a hostile challenge
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a defiant act
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type of:
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resistance
group action in opposition to those in power
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resistance
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intentionally contemptuous behavior or attitude
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synonyms:
rebelliousness
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types:
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insubordination
defiance of authority
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obstreperousness
noisy defiance
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type of:
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intractability, intractableness
the trait of being hard to influence or control
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insubordination
/dɪˈfaɪɪns/
/dɪˈfaɪəns/
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Copy citationVocabulary lists containing defiance
With a name that translates into Stout Heart, fifteen-year-old Mafatu, the son of the Great Chief of the Polynesian island of Hikueru, is determined to conquer his fear of the sea.
Teenagers Penelope and Xander navigate first love and family matters while working at Penelope's father's restaurant.
Molly the katt and Oscar the dogg belong to different families who hiss and growl at each other, but when they both get lost in the woods, they must stick together to get back to their camps safely.
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