defy

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb resist or confront with resistance
  2. verb elude, especially in a baffling way
  3. verb challenge

Etymology

From Old French desfier, from Vulgar Latin *disfidare (“renounce one's faith”), from Latin dis- (“away”) + fidus (“faithful”). Meaning shifted in the 14th century from "be disloyal" to "challenge". Contrast confide, fidelity, faith.

In classic literature

Synonyms

withstand, hold, hold up

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