Defiant

How to spell defiant

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce defiant

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does defiant mean?

1. adjectiveOpenly resisting authority or opposition; boldly refusing to obey or back down.

Defiant in a sentence

• The workers remained defiant despite the management's threats.

• She gave a defiant answer and refused to apologise.

Where does defiant come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the Old French verb 'defier', meaning to challenge, distrust, or renounce an allegiance, which gave English the verb 'defy' in the 1300s. The French verb grew out of the Late Latin 'disfidare', formed from the prefix 'dis-' (expressing reversal or removal) and 'fidus', meaning 'faithful' or 'trusting'; so at root the idea was to withdraw one's loyalty or trust. The adjective 'defiant' itself appeared later, in the early 1800s, modelled on the French 'defiant' and built by adding the adjective suffix '-ant' to the verb stem. The same 'fidus' family lies behind familiar words such as 'fidelity', 'confide', and 'diffident', all turning on the notion of trust or faith. Knowing that the heart of the word is 'defy' helps with the spelling, since the 'defi-' beginning is kept intact and only the '-ant' ending is added.

How the word is built

• defi- (from defy, to challenge or resist)
• -ant (adjective-forming suffix meaning 'doing or being')