From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdefyde‧fy /dɪˈfaɪ/ ●●○ verb (defied, defying, defies) [transitive] 1 DISOBEYto refuse to obey a law or rule, or refuse to do what someone in authority tells you to do → defiance people who openly defy the law► see thesaurus at disobey2 → defy description/analysis/belief etc3 → defy logic/the odds etc4 → I defy somebody to do something→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
defy• Billy defied his mother, and smoked openly in the house.• For the song of the suffering servant helps unlock the mystery that defies logic.• It is an industry that, recently anyway, almost defies logic.• Through their various plights, the drama questions a world where feminine ideals regularly defy rational explanation.• Only deer slots in the mud have defied the access restrictions.• The conservatives surprised everyone by agreeing to defy the government and overspend by almost as much ... ten million.• Scopes was forbidden to teach Darwin's theory of evolution, but he defied the law.• She said she would defy the party leader and vote against him.• Its meteoric ascent defied the usual explanations.• This celebration of Thanksgiving defies tradition.Origin defy (1300-1400) Old French defier, from Latin fidere “to trust” 