| / English Dictionary |
DEFENSIVE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An attitude of defensiveness (especially in the phrase 'on the defensive')
Synonyms:
defensive; defensive attitude
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("defensive" is a kind of...):
attitude; mental attitude (a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways)
Derivation:
defensive (attempting to justify or defend in speech or writing)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Intended or appropriate for defending against or deterring aggression or attack
Example:
a defensive stance
Classified under:
Similar:
antiaircraft (designed for defense from a surface position against air attack)
antisubmarine (defensive against enemy submarines)
antitank (designed for defense against armored vehicles)
defending (attempting to or designed to prevent an opponent from winning or scoring)
en garde ((fencing) in a defensive stance)
Also:
protective (intended or adapted to afford protection of some kind)
Antonym:
offensive (for the purpose of attack rather than defense)
Derivation:
defend (be on the defensive; act against an attack)
defend (protect against a challenge or attack)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Attempting to justify or defend in speech or writing
Synonyms:
defensive; justificative; justificatory
Classified under:
Similar:
apologetic; excusatory (offering or expressing apology)
Derivation:
defend (state or assert)
defend (fight against or resist strongly)
defensive (an attitude of defensiveness (especially in the phrase 'on the defensive'))
Context examples:
After that, I observed that Mr. Gulpidge and Mr. Henry Spiker, who had hitherto been very distant, entered into a defensive alliance against us, the common enemy, and exchanged a mysterious dialogue across the table for our defeat and overthrow.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
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