Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Intended or appropriate for defending; protective.
- adj. Intended to withstand or deter aggression or attack: a defensive weapons system; defensive behavior.
- adj. Of or relating to the effort to prevent an opponent from gaining points in a game or athletic contest.
- adj. Performed so as to avoid risk, danger, or legal liability: defensive driving; defensive medicine,
- adj. Of or relating to defense.
- adj. Psychology Constantly protecting oneself from criticism, exposure of one's shortcomings, or other real or perceived threats to the ego.
- n. A means of defense.
- n. An attitude or position of defense.
- idiom. on the defensive Prepared to withstand or counter aggression or attack.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Serving to defend; proper for defense: as, defensive armor.
- Of the nature of defense; consisting in resisting attack or aggression: as, defensive war, in distinction from offensive war, which is aggressive.
- In a state or posture to defend: as, a defensive attitude.
- n. That which defends or serves for defense; a safeguard; a security.
Wiktionary
- adj. Intended for defence; protective
- adj. Intended to deter attack
- adj. Performed so as to minimise risk
- adj. Displaying an inordinate sensitivity to criticism; compare paranoid
- adj. cricket Of a bowling or fielding tactic designed to prevent the other side from scoring runs.; of a batting tactic designed to prevent being out.
- adj. sports pertaining to defense, as opposed to attack.
- n. A means, attitude or position of defense.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Serving to defend or protect; proper for defense; opposed to
offensive . - adj. Carried on by resisting attack or aggression; -- opposed to
offensive . - adj. In a state or posture of defense.
- n. That which defends; a safeguard.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. intended or appropriate for defending against or deterring aggression or attack
- adj. attempting to justify or defend in speech or writing
- n. an attitude of defensiveness (especially in the phrase `on the defensive')
Examples
“No toughness, no championship," he said, repeating one of his go-to tenets—and the phrase defensive end Justin Tuck whispered to his should've-been-hobbled coach that Christmas Eve night when the up-and-down Giants finally seemed to find themselves.”
“The term defensive driving has taken on a new definition as street conditions continue to deteriorate.”
“Jancek joined Georgia's staff in 2005 and was given the title defensive co-coordinator before this season after turning down a coordinator position at South Florida.”
“Israeli media reports quote President Peres as saying in remarks to reporters in Hebrew, that he raised threats to Israel's security from Iran, and the need for what he called a "defensive wall" against Iran.”
Voice of America: Obama: Israeli-Palestinian Solution 'More Urgent than Ever'
“A key moment before the war had come in January 1950, when Secretary of State Dean Acheson, in a speech, defined what he called the defensive perimeter that the United States was committed to protecting.”
“I'm not sure that coming out on the defensive is a good way to win a leadership contest, but obviously Huw Lewis thinks that the First Minister's recent comments were directed agaist him.”
“The firefighters are in what they call a defensive "surround and drown" mode.”
“And if you're worried about getting sued all the time, then there is the natural tendency to practice what they call defensive medicine.”
“VICKERS: Well, the stock, the sectors that you just mentioned are really what we call defensive sectors and that simply means that they're less likely to have earnings disappointments in the midst of a slowing economy.”
“The outer worlds formed what they called a defensive league and with characteristic human rationality promptly attacked us.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘defensive’.
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Headlines & Newsmakers
frugality, environment, extinction, bible, killer, jazz, cloning, dead, god, moon, global warming, bailout and 340 more...
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2
transition, contents, conformity, division, labour, prominent, complexity, interrelationalship, similarity, note, tentative, convey and 75 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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Holli
Cancer, Mercury, water, moon, dark, emotion, nostalgia, angst, brooding, isolation, shadow, corner and 145 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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feeling words
twitterpated, loquacious, ambiguous, pensive, sluggish, anxious, adventurous, curious, abandoned, absent-minded, abrasive, abused and 653 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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azabanjan's Words
evapotranspiration, juggernaut, eismitte, inmates, independent, currently, locator, member, bodyguard, minute, telephone, regulations and 37 more...
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Tsic! tsic! tsic!
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potto, prosimian, strepsirrhine, toothcomb, gum, primate, vertebrae, groom, pelage, nocturnal, claw, canopy and 20 more...
Tweets
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