How to Use defiant in a Sentence

defiant

adjective

• He's taken a defiant stand on the issue.
• There was a burlesque quality to this but also defiant pride.
  — Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024
• One almost manages a confused smile through her exhaustion; another seems mentally far away; a third faces us with almost defiant resolve.
  — Scott Cantrell, Dallas News, 21 Apr. 2021
• Despite his defiant sloganeering, Cross is among the perfume makers who also spoke of the creativity born of constraint.
  — Noy Thrupkaew, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2021
• Even as Correia’s former chief of staff and three others have pleaded guilty in the extortion scheme, the former mayor, now 29, has remained defiant.
  — Author: Alanna Durkin Richer, Anchorage Daily News, 19 Apr. 2021
• Even as Correia's former chief of staff and three others have pleaded guilty in the extortion scheme, the former mayor, now 29, has remained defiant.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 18 Apr. 2021
• Alibaba used to be the most defiant in its dealings with the regulators, which once looked the other way as the e-commerce giant bullied its smaller competitors and vendors.
  — New York Times, 29 Apr. 2021
• In an emotional outburst, Putin chastised the West for acquiring a defiant stance toward Russia.
  — Fox News, 22 Apr. 2021
• Others will relish the way this defiant, witty autobiography sings loudly in that unmistakable voice.
  — Alexander Larman, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 29 Nov. 2024
• There's a black sheep in the game, along with a red sheep who is more defiant than the others.
  — Trilby Beresford, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Aug. 2020
• Many musicians have been defiant in the wake of the tragedy.
  — Kevin O Donnell, PEOPLE.com, 28 May 2017
• Still, Bailey remained defiant in the face of the judge’s threats to jail him.
  — Andrew Goldman, Town & Country, 3 June 2021
• As the hours passed, the mood shifted from defiant to resigned, and the crowd started to thin.
  — Bloomberg.com, 5 Apr. 2018
• In the meantime, the farmhand who told the AP about the Done Taw massacre is defiant.
  — David Rising and, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Dec. 2021
• Most have brought a more defiant, Trumpian tone with them.
  — NBC News, 21 Mar. 2021
• Trump raised a defiant fist into the air as he was hustled off the stage and out of the rally.
  — Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 14 July 2024
• The dogs seem tense; the groundhog a little defiant and a lot hungry.
  — Joel Shannon, USA TODAY, 16 Apr. 2020
• But the Gillis that showed up to Studio 8H was less defiant than chastened.
  — Rebecca Sun, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2024
• The plot loosely mirrors key themes in the songs, which are steeped in exile and loss, but still lusty and defiant.
  — Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 May 2017
• In the aftermath of the U.S. and British strikes on dozens of Houthi positions, the movement was defiant.
  — Loveday Morris, Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2024
• Willy, a pianist, is more defiant and wants to speak truth to power.
  — Peter Marks, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2023
• Adorned with locks and keys, dice and gems, this combat boot is equal parts charming and defiant.
  — Katie Attardo, Marie Claire, 28 Sep. 2020
• Down but defiant: Despite the Avs’ two-games-to-one deficit, Roy didn’t lack for bravado.
  — Gene Myers, Detroit Free Press, 21 May 2022
• Hunched over the light of their phones, some young people remain defiant.
  — New York Times, 6 Feb. 2021
• Through the process of going public, Mr. Karp has been defiant.
  — Erin Griffith, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2020
• As the men gawp on lustily and take locks of hair as a souvenir, a tear falls from Teixeira’s defiant mask.
  — Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 3 Sep. 2024
• The 4,000-strong crowd turned toward Little Amal, who stood straight and defiant as the puppeteers pulled her up to full height.
  — New York Times, 10 Nov. 2021
• In responding to the sanctions, Bassil struck a defiant tone.
  — Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2020
• Some voters were defiant in the face of Lukashenko’s vow not to tolerate any protests.
  — Yuras Karmanau, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Aug. 2020
• Some voters were defiant in the face of Lukashenko's vow not to tolerate any protests.
  — Yuras Karmanau, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Aug. 2020

Last Updated: 1 Jan 2025