Word family noun defence/defense defendant defender defensiveness adjective defenceless/defenseless defensible ≠ indefensible defensive verb defend adverb defensibly ≠ indefensibly defensively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdefensivede‧fen‧sive1 /dɪˈfensɪv/ ●○○ adjective 1 DEFENDused or intended to protect someone or something against attack OPP offensive The prince drew up his forces in a strong defensive position. The rockets are a purely defensive measure against nuclear attack.2 DEFENDbehaving in a way that shows you think someone is criticizing you even if they are not She despised herself for sounding so defensive. a reserved and defensive manner3 DS American English relating to stopping the other team from getting points in a game OPP offensive defensive play —defensively adverb —defensiveness noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpus
defensive• Police officers claimed that their actions during the riots were purely defensive.• Dave Campo is the Cowboys' third defensive coordinator in four years.• Their success was built upon a resolute defensive display, shutting out 12-goal Dean Saunders.• Rather than getting upset or defensive, I see myself being genuinely interested in her input.• Brackens is the best rusher in the defensive line.• a defensive player• The invention of the tank and the aircraft broke through the defensive stalemate that had characterised the first world war.• Dallas has lost two good players from their defense, cornerback Larry Brown and defensive tackle Russell Maryland.• The city would be encircled by its defensive walls pierced by town gates.• According to the report, only defensive weapons had been supplied to Iran.• defensive weaponsdefensive measure• Other defensive measure have included the long-awaited decision by Sir Rocco Forte to separate his chairman and chief executive jobs.• It was also probably in part a defensive measure on the part of the ego itself.defensivedefensive2 noun 1 → on/onto the defensive2 → put/force somebody on the defensiveExamples from the Corpus
defensive• But putting news directors on the defensive is by no means a bad thing.• The industry is on the defensive in Congress, in courts across the nation and in the war for public opinion.• There are two reasons why the Government is now on the defensive after last week's protests against high fuel tax. 