defy

de·fy  (d-f)

tr.v. de·fied, de·fy·ing, de·fies

1.

a. To oppose or resist with boldness and assurance: defied the blockade by sailing straight through it.

b. To refuse to submit to or cooperate with: defied the court order by leaving the country.

2. To be unaffected by; resist or withstand: "So the plague defied all medicines" (Daniel Defoe).

3. To challenge or dare (someone) to do something: She defied her accusers to prove their charges.

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[Middle English defien, from Old French desfier, from Vulgar Latin *disfdre : Latin dis-, dis- + Latin fdus, faithful; see bheidh- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: defy, brave, challenge, dare, face
These verbs mean to confront boldly and courageously: an innovator defying tradition; braving all criticism; challenged the opposition to produce proof; daring him to deny the statement; faced her accusers.

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defy

Verb

[-fies, -fying, -fied]

1. to resist openly and boldly

2. to elude in a baffling way: his actions defy explanation

3. Formal to challenge (someone to do something) [Old French desfier]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	defy - resist or confront with resistance; "The politician defied public opinion"; "The new material withstands even the greatest wear and tear"; "The bridge held" withstand, hold up, hold stand firm, withstand, hold out, resist - stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something brave, brave out, weather, endure - face and withstand with courage; "She braved the elements"
	2.	defy - elude, especially in a baffling way; "This behavior defies explanation" resist, refuse beggar - be beyond the resources of; "This beggars description!" elude, escape - be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by; "What you are seeing in him eludes me" lend oneself, apply - be applicable to; as to an analysis; "This theory lends itself well to our new data"
	3.	defy - challenge; "I dare you!" dare brazen - face with defiance or impudence; "brazen it out" challenge - issue a challenge to; "Fischer challenged Spassky to a match"

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defy

verb 1. resist, oppose, confront, face, brave, beard, disregard, stand up to, spurn, flout, disobey, hold out against, put up a fight (against), hurl defiance at, contemn

verb 2. challenge, dare, provoke

verb 3. foil, defeat, escape, frustrate, be beyond, baffle, thwart, elude, confound

Translations

defy [dɪˈfaɪ] vt (= resist) → oponerse a (= challenge); desafiar (= order); contravenir

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defy [dɪˈfaɪ] vt → défier [+ efforts etc]; résister à;

it defies description → cela défie toute description

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defy [dɪˈfaɪ] vt → sich widersetzen +dat;

(challenge) → auffordern;

it defies description → es spottet jeder Beschreibung

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defy [dɪˈfaɪ] vt → sfidare [+ efforts etc]; resistere a (= refuse to obey) [+ person] → rifiutare di obbedire a

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defy

v defy [diˈfai]

1 to dare (someone to act); to challenge I defy you to try and stop me! uitdaag يَتَحَدّى предизвиквам vyzvat udfordre herausfordern προκαλώ desafiar välja kutsuma به مبارزه طلبیدن haastaa défier לְסָרֵב चुनौती देना prkositi, opirati se kihív menantang skora á, ögra sfidare 挑戦する 남에게 ...해보라고 하다 skatinti izaicināt cabar uitdagen trasse, trosse, utfordre wyzywać desafiar a des­fide; a provoca бросать вызов vyzvať izzivati izazivati utmana ท้า meydan okuma 挑起，激起 кидати виклик للکرنا bất chấp 挑起，激起

2 to resist boldly or openly Are you defying my authority? tart, uitdaag يُقاوِم، يَتَحَدّى не се подчинявам vzpírat se, vzdorovat trodse trotzen αψηφώ desafiar vastu hakkama سرپیچی کردن؛ مقابله کردن uhmata défier לְהִתנָגֵד בְּגָלוּי अवज्ञा करना suprotstaviti se ellenszegül menentang storka, bjóða byrginn sfidare 無視する 도전하다, 반항하다 stoti prieš, ignoruoti nepakļauties; ignorēt bantah trotseren trosse, heve seg over przeciwstawiać się desafiar a sfida открыто не повиноваться vzdorovať upirati se prkositi trotsa ท้าทายอำนาจ; ฝ่าฝืน karşı gelmek 公然反抗 ігнорувати; зневажати کھلے بندوں مخالفت کرنا thách thức 公然反抗