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Meanings of defy in English

Portuguese
relutar
Catalan
suportar
Spanish
soportar

Resist or confront with resistance.

        relutar
        Catalan
        oposar-se
        Spanish
        rechazar

        Elude, especially in a baffling way.

            oposar-se
            Portuguese
            desafiar
            Spanish
            retar

            Challenge.

                  desafiar
                  Usage of defy in English
                  1
                  Then consider the Scottish National party, which continues to defy political logic.
                  The Guardian
                  2
                  Asset prices often do strange things in ways that defy rational explanation.
                  The Irish Times
                  3
                  Human rights groups, however, were outraged that Bashir could openly defy arrest.
                  The Guardian
                  4
                  The new London School of Economics student centre seems to defy gravity.
                  The Irish Times
                  5
                  Petraeus said they did not have to defy all those risk factors.
                  Obama's wars
                  6
                  Such verbal gymnastics defy common sense, even if HMRC has been satisfied.
                  The Guardian
                  7
                  I believe that I could defy all the Tirettas in the world.
                  The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Volume 1...
                  8
                  The one will taunt, the other defy; one aggresses, the other retaliates.
                  The Papers and Writings of Abraham Lincoln — Volume 2: 1843-1858
                  9
                  But courts have never given presidents absolute authority to defy congressional subpoenas.
                  Reuters
                  10
                  Then she came to a lad whose work appeared to defy description.
                  The new yorker
                  11
                  The joint interest of the Earl and the Mowbrays would defy opposition.
                  The Adventures of Hugh Trevor
                  12
                  For a moment he thought the maester was going to defy him.
                  A clash of kings
                  13
                  Many defy curfews in several cities, but the demonstrations are largely peaceful.
                  BBC
                  14
                  The complicated headdress and the ornaments on the robes utterly defy description.
                  The Prehistoric World; Or, Vanished Races
                  15
                  This summer, however, the now 22-year-old is starting to defy that reputation.
                  The Guardian
                  16
                  It empowered individuals to defy authority when it crossed a certain line.
                  How the scots invented the modern world: the true story of how w...
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                  Translations for defy
                  Defy through the time
                  Defy across language varieties
                  United Kingdom
                  Common
                  Ireland
                  Common
                  United States of America
                  Common