de·fense (d -f ns )n. 1. The act of defending against attack, danger, or injury. 2. A means or method of defending or protecting. 3. Sports The act or an instance of defending a championship against a challenger: will box in his third defense of his title. 4. An argument in support or justification of something. See Synonyms at apology. 5. Law a. The action of the defendant in opposition to complaints against him or her. b. The defendant and his or her legal counsel. 6. The science or art of defending oneself; self-defense. 7. often (d  fns ) Sports a. Means or tactics used in trying to stop the opposition from scoring. b. The team or those players on the team attempting to stop the opposition from scoring. 8. The military, governmental, and industrial complex, especially as it authorizes and manages weaponry production. tr.v. de·fensed, de·fens·ing, de·fens·es Sports 1. To attempt to stop (the opposition) from scoring. 2. To play defense against (an opponent); guard. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin d fnsa, from feminine past participle of dfendere, to ward off; see defend.]de·fense less adj.de·fense less·ly adv.de·fense less·ness n. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | defense - (military) military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies; "they died in the defense of Stalingrad"; "they were developed for the defense program" umbrella - a formation of military planes maintained over ground operations or targets; "an air umbrella over England" military action, action - a military engagement; "he saw action in Korea" air defense - defensive measures designed to destroy attacking enemy aircraft or missiles or to nullify their effectiveness stand - a defensive effort; "the army made a final stand at the Rhone" hasty defence, hasty defense - a defense organized while in contact with the enemy or when time is limited deliberate defence, deliberate defense - a defense organized before contact is made with the enemy and while time for organization is available; usually includes a fortified zone (with pillboxes) and communication systems biodefence, biodefense, biological defence, biological defense - procedures involved in taking defensive measures against attacks using biological agents chemical defence, chemical defense - procedures involved in taking defensive measures against attacks using chemical agents minelaying, mining - laying explosive mines in concealed places to destroy enemy personnel and equipment biological warfare defence, biological warfare defense, BW defence, BW defense - defense against biological warfare armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" |
| 2. | defense - protection from harm; "sanitation is the best defense against disease" protection - the activity of protecting someone or something; "the witnesses demanded police protection" | |
| 3. |  defense - (sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring; "his teams are always good on defense" | |
| 4. | defense - the justification for some act or belief; "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory" justification - a statement in explanation of some action or belief alibi - (law) a defense by an accused person purporting to show that he or she could not have committed the crime in question exculpation, excuse, self-justification, alibi - a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.; "he kept finding excuses to stay"; "every day he had a new alibi for not getting a job"; "his transparent self-justification was unacceptable" | |
| 5. | defense - (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires unconscious process, process - a mental process that you are not directly aware of; "the process of denial" psychiatry, psychological medicine, psychopathology - the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders compensation - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that conceals your undesirable shortcomings by exaggerating desirable behaviors conversion - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism represses emotional conflicts which are then converted into physical symptoms that have no organic basis denial - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that denies painful thoughts displacement - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that transfers affect or reaction from the original object to some more acceptable one idealisation, idealization - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that splits something you are ambivalent about into two representations--one good and one bad intellectualisation, intellectualization - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism that uses reasoning to block out emotional stress and conflict isolation - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which memory of an unacceptable act or impulse is separated from the emotion originally associated with it projection - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your own traits and emotions are attributed to someone else psychoanalytic process - a process that is assumed to occur in psychoanalytic theory rationalisation, rationalization - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your true motivation is concealed by explaining your actions and feelings in a way that is not threatening reaction formation - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously develops attitudes and behavior that are the opposite of unacceptable repressed desires and impulses and serve to conceal them; "his strict morality is just a reaction formation to hide his sexual drive" regression - (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which you flee from reality by assuming a more infantile state repression - (psychiatry) the classical defense mechanism that protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from becoming conscious | |
| 6. |  Defense - the federal department responsible for safeguarding national security of the United States; created in 1947executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - the central research and development organization for the United States Department of Defense; responsible for developing new surveillance technologies since 9/11 Department of Defense Laboratory System, LABLINK - a defense laboratory that provides essential services in fundamental science for national security and environmental protection and provides technologies that contribute to industrial competitiveness United States Navy, US Navy, USN, Navy - the navy of the United States of America; the agency that maintains and trains and equips combat-ready naval forces U. S. Air Force, United States Air Force, US Air Force, USAF, Air Force - the airforce of the United States of America; the agency that defends the United States through control and exploitation of air and space Defense Intelligence Agency, DIA - an intelligence agency of the United States in the Department of Defense; is responsible for providing intelligence in support of military planning and operations and weapons acquisition Defense Logistics Agency - a logistics combat support agency in the Department of Defense; provides worldwide support for military missions Defense Technical Information Center, DTIC - the agency in the Department of Defense that provides scientific and technical information to federal agencies and their contractors National Reconnaissance Office, NRO - an intelligence agency in the United States Department of Defense that designs and builds and operates space reconnaissance systems to detect trouble spots worldwide and to monitor arms control agreements and environmental issues and to help plan military operations National Security Agency, NSA - the United States cryptologic organization that coordinates and directs highly specialized activities to protect United States information systems and to produce foreign intelligence information U. S. Army, United States Army, US Army, USA, Army - the army of the United States of America; the agency that organizes and trains soldiers for land warfare Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, BMDO - an agency in the Department of Defense that is responsible for making ballistic missile defense a reality Defense Information Systems Agency, DISA - a combat support agency in the Department of Defense responsible for developing and operating and supporting information systems to serve the needs of the President and the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, NGA - a combat support agency that provides geographic intelligence in support of national security Casualty Care Research Center, CCRC - an agency in the Department of Defense that is a national center for research on all aspects of injury control and casualty care | |
| 7. | defense - the defendant and his legal advisors collectively; "the defense called for a mistrial" aggregation, collection, accumulation, assemblage - several things grouped together or considered as a whole prosecution - the lawyers acting for the state to put the case against the defendant | |
| 8. | defense - the speech act of answering an attack on your assertions; "his refutation of the charges was short and persuasive"; "in defense he said the other man started it" answer - the speech act of replying to a question confutation - the speech act of refuting conclusively rebuttal - the speech act of refuting by offering a contrary contention or argument | |
| 9. |  defense - an organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack; "he joined the defense against invasion"organization, organisation - a group of people who work together bastion - a group that defends a principle; "a bastion against corruption"; "the last bastion of communism" | |
| 10. | defense - a structure used to defend against attack; "the artillery battered down the defenses" cheval-de-frise, chevaux-de-frise - defensive structure consisting of a movable obstacle composed of barbed wire or spikes attached to a wooden frame; used to obstruct cavalry fortification, munition - defensive structure consisting of walls or mounds built around a stronghold to strengthen it line of defence, line of defense - defensive structure consisting of a barrier that can be employed for defense against attack outwork - subsidiary defensive structure lying outside the main fortified area; "the outworks of the castle" stronghold, fastness - a strongly fortified defensive structure structure, construction - a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts; "the structure consisted of a series of arches"; "she wore her hair in an amazing construction of whirls and ribbons" | |
| 11. | defense - a defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him; "he gave evidence for the defense" due process, due process of law - (law) the administration of justice according to established rules and principles; based on the principle that a person cannot be deprived of life or liberty or property without appropriate legal procedures and safeguards trial - (law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law; "he had a fair trial and the jury found him guilty"; "most of these complaints are settled before they go to trial" entrapment - a defense that claims the defendant would not have broken the law if not tricked into doing it by law enforcement officials law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" criminal prosecution, prosecution - the institution and conduct of legal proceedings against a defendant for criminal behavior | |
| 12. | defense - the act of defending someone or something against attack or injury; "a good boxer needs a good defense"; "defense against hurricanes is an urgent problem" protection - the activity of protecting someone or something; "the witnesses demanded police protection" |
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