Meaning & use
defiantly
Last updated
Meaning
adverbnot comparable
In a way that openly refuses to obey or give in, showing that you will not be controlled.
Grammar: Goes before or after the verb: she defiantly refused, or she stared defiantly.
Patterns
- stare defiantly at someone
- defiantly refuse to do something
The child folded her arms and defiantly shook her head.
He defiantly kept wearing the banned badge.
The crowd defiantly sang the song the guards had forbidden.
Common combinations
- stare defiantly
- The teenager stared defiantly at the principal.
- defiantly refuse
- The workers defiantly refused to leave the factory.
- raise a fist defiantly
- He raised a fist defiantly as the cameras flashed.
- lift her chin defiantly
- She lifted her chin defiantly and walked on.
- defiantly declare
- The mayor defiantly declared that the festival would go ahead.
Synonyms and how they differ
- boldly
- Boldly shows courage but not necessarily opposition, whereas defiantly always involves resisting someone.
- rebelliously
- Rebelliously suggests a pattern of rejecting rules, while defiantly can describe one single act of refusal.
- stubbornly
- Stubbornly means refusing to change your mind, but it lacks the open challenge to authority that defiantly carries.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: defiantly or definitely?
defiantly vs definitely
Definitely means certainly and has nothing to do with resistance, though the spelling looks similar.
Practice
When the officer ordered him to move, he ____ stayed exactly where he was.
Choose one answer.
Defiantly shows an open refusal to obey an order. Politely and gratefully do not fit a refusal, and nervously suggests fear rather than challenge.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “defiantly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.