defensiveness

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de·fen·sive

(dĭ-fĕn′sĭv)

adj.

1. Intended or appropriate for defending; protective.

a. Intended to withstand or deter aggression or attack: a defensive weapons system; defensive behavior.

b. Of or relating to the effort to prevent an opponent from gaining points in a game or athletic contest.

c. Performed so as to avoid risk, danger, or legal liability: defensive driving; defensive medicine.

3. Of or relating to defense.

4. Psychology Constantly protecting oneself from criticism, exposure of one's shortcomings, or other real or perceived threats to the ego.

1. A means of defense.

2. An attitude or position of defense.

Idiom:

on the defensive

Prepared to withstand or counter aggression or attack.

de·fen′sive·ly adv.

de·fen′sive·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

defensiveness - excessive sensitivity to criticism; "his defensiveness was manifested in hurt silence"; "the fear of being sued for malpractice has magnified physicians' defensiveness"

sensitiveness, sensitivity - the ability to respond to affective changes in your interpersonal environment

bunker mentality - defensiveness resulting from repeated attacks; "after so many suicide bombings the Israelis have to resist developing a bunker mentality"

Translations

defensiveness

[dɪˈfensɪvnɪs] N (= tone) → tono m defensivo; (= attitude) → actitud f defensiva

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

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