What's the difference between defiant and defy?

Defiant


Definition:

  • (a.) Full of defiance; bold; insolent; as, a defiant spirit or act.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It comes in defiant journalism, like the story televised last week of a gardener in Aleppo who was killed by bombs while tending his roses and his son, who helped him, orphaned.
  • (2) As the US and the European Union adopted tougher economic sanctions against Russia over the conflict in eastern Ukraine and downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 , Russian officials struck a defiant note, promising that Russia would localise production and emerge stronger than before.
  • (3) Twitter and Facebook were filling up with pictures of proud, defiant Afghans holding up fingers stained with ink.
  • (4) We're kicking off with Spain, where prime minister Mariano Rajoy has defiantly insisted that he would not accept a bailout which would force him to inflict further spending cuts or tax rises on the Spanish people Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy answers journalists questions during last night's interview on the national Spanish Public Television (TVE).
  • (5) Barack Obama's policy of engagement with North Korea lies "in tatters" after it was effectively shot down by Pynongyang's defiant but failed attempt to launch a long-range rocket.
  • (6) The Greek government’s defiant stance came as the head of the Hellenic Chambers of Commerce , Constantine Michalos, said he did not believe Greece’s banks would be able to reopen next Tuesday without further funding, telling the Daily Telegraph he had been told cash reserves were down to €500m.
  • (7) Yesterday, however, a defiant Luzhkov – who has run Russia's capital like a personal fiefdom since 1992 – returned home.
  • (8) She told the court she would not be broken by imprisonment, even if she had to spend 15 or 20 years behind bars, and issued a number of defiant statements from detention.
  • (9) The defiant Philippine leader has responded to critics with a string of outbursts, including labelling the US ambassador to Manila a “gay son of a whore” , telling the Catholic church “don’t fuck with me” , and accusing the UN of issuing “shitting” statements about his anti-drugs policies.
  • (10) We must wait to see how the stand-off between aggressive regulator and defiant bank plays out, but what's clear is that these allegations come at the worst possible time for the City.
  • (11) Further analyses of subgroups of hyperactives at outcome, formed on the presence or absence of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), indicated that the presence of ODD accounted for most of the differences between hyperactives and normals on the interaction measures, ratings of home conflicts, and ratings of maternal psychological distress.
  • (12) Halifa Sallah, the spokesman for Barrow’s coalition, said he expected Jammeh to change his defiant position when he saw that the military were no longer with him, which he thought would happen imminently.
  • (13) Many commentators considered the suggestion merely foolish, but computer hackers issued death threats against her and her children, which she promptly posted on Twitter, along with the defiant message: "Get stuffed, losers.
  • (14) Zarif sounded more defiant notes when asked about Iranian human rights and regional stability.
  • (15) Frequently, the uncooperative patient is labeled as having a poor or defiant attitude toward orthodontic treatment.
  • (16) The system of government he had built was defiantly non-western, relying not on institutions but on individuals, key power-brokers prized for their loyalty and forgiven for faults that horrified overseas observers.
  • (17) The women remained defiant throughout the trial, issuing powerful closing statements that quickly entered the canon of Russia's dissident speeches.
  • (18) "I didn't come here to apologise," Bush told world leaders in a defiant seven-minute speech, even as the IPS daily conference newspaper Terra Viva led off with the story in an arresting headline: "US President Snubs His Nose at Rest of the World."
  • (19) A defiant Balls claimed last week that, with the chancellor missing his borrowing targets this autumn, voters would start to turn Labour's way next year.
  • (20) Tatchell told the Guardian he received a defiant message from Chimbalanga that said: "I love Steven so much.

Defy


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce.
  • (v. t.) To provoke to combat or strife; to call out to combat; to challenge; to dare; to brave; to set at defiance; to treat with contempt; as, to defy an enemy; to defy the power of a magistrate; to defy the arguments of an opponent; to defy public opinion.
  • (n.) A challenge.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) For his lone, perilous journey that defied the US occupation authorities, Burchett was pilloried, not least by his embedded colleagues.
  • (2) "We have Revolutionary Guards who defied orders, though they were severely punished, expelled from the force and taken to prison," he says.
  • (3) He said his party was determined to go ahead with the poll, even if it meant defying Spain's constitutional court, which Rull dismissed as biased.
  • (4) When several of its semi-autonomous cars were caught running red lights, the state ordered their removal from the road – an order Uber openly defied , blaming the traffic light violations on “human error” and suspending the people monitoring the cars.
  • (5) Speaker Paul Ryan and majority leader Kevin McCarthy, the two top House Republicans, had argued in Monday’s meeting – held with no prior notice – against making the unilateral ethics change, calling for a bipartisan approach at a later date, but rank-and-file Republicans defied their leadership.
  • (6) Heidi Allen, the Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire, abstained in last week’s vote but said she and others would defy the party whip if concessions were not offered.
  • (7) Barack Obama has defied a Republican Congress to move ahead on his climate agenda on Wednesday, cracking down on methane emissions from America’s oil and natural gas boom.
  • (8) The home secretary, Theresa May , has defied her own expert advisers and banned qat, a mild herbal stimulant that is traditionally used by Britain's Somali, Yemeni and Ethiopian communities.
  • (9) No call for the resurrection of the proud, shared traditions of Scots, Welsh and English people as they defied the powerful to build a better society; no convincing pledge that a new Britain would be forged, just and equal and fair unlike what New Labour failed to deliver.
  • (10) Some samples with complex patterns defied classification, and it is speculated that these may be from persons with duplicated C7 genes.
  • (11) Sales on the high street were much higher than expected this month, rising at their fastest rate in six years as consumers defied the gloomy economic outlook.
  • (12) But the instruction issued by the party headquarters in Paris was defied by the Socialist candidate in the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region, who came third but announced he would stand for the second round anyway.
  • (13) This was the childhood playground of actor Richard Harris, where he performed death-defying handstands and cycling tricks on the cliffside walls when not showboating by the sea.
  • (14) Just as no single description is universally applicable to the mode of action of vitamin A derivatives, so too do their toxic effects defy generalization.
  • (15) He has been held without charges since his arrest on 5 June but has been informed that under martial law he faces up to 14 years in prison on possible charges of inciting unrest, violating cyber laws and defying the junta's orders.
  • (16) Writers should be making more of an effort to write interesting parts for actors of colour that defy stereotypes, or implementing a Geena Davis type solution (simply change any character in a script into a woman) for race.
  • (17) It defies the logic of personal ambition that grows stronger with proximity to the biggest job in the world.
  • (18) It was so I could tell Jeremy that I had backed him.” Corbyn has defied not only Fletcher’s expectations but everyone else’s.
  • (19) But, since then, it has fallen to around $1,660 (£1,047) defying predictions – and the hopes of speculators – that it would continue to hit new peaks during the ongoing financial turmoil.
  • (20) For the last five months, he has enjoyed unprecedented political dominance, after an election where the SNP defied the logic of Holyrood's semi-proportional system by winning an absolute majority, sweeping into power with nearly 50% of the vote.