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{%type%} Definitions

WordNet 3.0Copyright Princeton University
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Short "hint"

v. - Challenge; Resist or confront with resistance; Elude, especially in a baffling way.

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Usage examples (35)
  • Monotremes defy the English word mammal, which implies breasts, or at least nipples.
  • Kichwapi colleague Enrique Conejo said some terms defy easy Quechua translation: "The word inflation is a headache."
  • Regardless of party affiliation or politics, the attacks on Palin defy everything that this country is suppose to be about.
  • Admittedly, "defy" and "retaliate" are better, but what does that mean concretely?
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The Open Dictionary of English is a collaborative project, based on Open Source materials, LearnThat resources, and partner APIs.
We give special thanks to our LearnThat volunteers, as well as Princeton University and Wiktionary for their Open Source word data. We're also grateful for the support given by Google, Wordnik.com, Dictionary.com, Stands4.com and YouTube, OEDILF.com, Kylescholz.com, Best-Practice.com, Forvo.com, as well as the generous Creative Commons community.