as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
the defiant puppy refused to let go of the football
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Recent Examples of defiant
Meanwhile, defiant members of parliament raced to the National Assembly building for delegation.
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Dylan Butts, CNBC, 5 Dec. 2024
From Supreme Court Rulings To Drunk Trespassers, The Pupfish Has Seen It All
If the environmental threats to the Devils Hole pupfish weren’t enough, humanity has thrown its fair share of challenges at this defiant little fish that continues to maintain its meager numbers.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024
There was a burlesque quality to this but also defiant pride.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
Blitz - Official Trailer | Apple TV+ Watch on
Set in the early days of the Blitz, the war drama follows defiant young boy George (Elliott Heffernan), who escapes from the train evacuating him out of London and returns to the beleaguered city.
—Gregory Wakeman, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for defiant 
Dylan Butts, CNBC, 5 Dec. 2024
From Supreme Court Rulings To Drunk Trespassers, The Pupfish Has Seen It All
If the environmental threats to the Devils Hole pupfish weren’t enough, humanity has thrown its fair share of challenges at this defiant little fish that continues to maintain its meager numbers.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024
There was a burlesque quality to this but also defiant pride.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
Blitz - Official Trailer | Apple TV+ Watch on
Set in the early days of the Blitz, the war drama follows defiant young boy George (Elliott Heffernan), who escapes from the train evacuating him out of London and returns to the beleaguered city.
—Gregory Wakeman, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for defiant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defiant
Adjective
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Americans are a rebellious bunch, so trying to stop a political figure by nearly killing him provokes the opposite reaction.Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024
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More recently, however, Ocasio-Cortez has shown signs of abandoning at least some of the rebellious positions that defined her earliest years in office.Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 22 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In September, Israel launched another strike on Hodeida, killing at least four people after a rebel missile targeted Ben Gurion Airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country.Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
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The rebel groups that joined HTS to topple the regime made for a complex network of fighters, at times backed by foreign nations who were focused on battling different enemies.Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The Fed’s preferred inflation measure — the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index — is due Friday and could similarly show stubborn price pressures.Bryan Mena, CNN, 18 Dec. 2024
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However, Kamil Kovar, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics, argued in a note that stubborn core inflation would continue to spur ECB caution next year.Jenni Reid, CNBC, 16 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near defiant
Cite this Entry
“Defiant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defiant. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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