Defy

How to spell defy

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce defy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does defy mean?

1. verbTo openly resist or refuse to obey a person, rule, or expectation.

Defy in a sentence

• The protesters chose to defy the new parking restrictions.

• A small startup can sometimes defy the predictions of seasoned analysts.

Where does defy come from?

Language of origin: French

This word comes from the Old French desfier, meaning to challenge, to renounce one's allegiance, or to declare hostility. That in turn traces back to a Vulgar Latin form disfidare, built from the prefix dis- (here meaning away or undo) and the Latin fidus, meaning faithful or trusty, which is closely related to fides, the word for faith or trust. So in its earliest sense, to defy literally meant to renounce one's bond of faith or loyalty to someone, a formal act of breaking trust before opening hostilities. English took the word in during the 1300s, and over time the strict legal flavour of renouncing allegiance softened into the broader modern sense of boldly resisting or refusing to obey. The shared fides root links defy to a whole family of trust words such as fidelity, confide, and faithful, which is a useful reminder that the deeper idea behind it is the breaking of an expected bond.

How the word is built

• de- (away, undo)
• -fy (from Latin fidare/fidus: trust, faith)