defy

• vt. 藐视；公然反抗；挑衅；使落空
• n. 挑战；对抗

de-, 不，非，使相反。-fy, 同-fid, 相信，词源同faith, confident. 即不再相信，引申义违抗。

1. resist or confront with resistance;

"The politician defied public opinion"

"The new material withstands even the greatest wear and tear"

"The bridge held"

2. elude, especially in a baffling way;

"This behavior defies explanation"

3. challenge;

"I dare you!"

defy

defy: [14] The underlying notion of defy is of the renunciation of allegiance. It comes via Old French defier from a Vulgar Latin *disfidāre ‘renounce one’s faith’, a compound verb formed from the prefix dis-, denoting reversal, and Latin fīdus ‘trusting’. This adjective came from a lengthened variant of the stem which produced fidēs ‘faith’, source of English faith.

The word’s current main sense represents a slight shift from ‘being disloyal’ to actively ‘challenging someone’s power’. The verb’s noun derivative defiance [14], borrowed from Old French, has a first cousin in diffidence [15], originally ‘distrustfulness’, which came from the classical Latin compound verb diffidere ‘mistrust’.
=> diffidence, faith

defy (v.)

c. 1300, "to renounce one's allegiance;" mid-14c., "to challenge, defy," from Old French defier, desfier "to challenge, defy, provoke; renounce (a belief), repudiate (a vow, etc.)," from Vulgar Latin *disfidare "renounce one's faith," from Latin dis- "away" (see dis-) + fidus "faithful," from the same root as fides "faith" (see faith).

oppose, defy, withstand, resist

这些动词均含有"反抗，抵抗"之意。

oppose： 普通用词，可表不同程度的抵抗。

defy： 指公开地、勇敢地反对或抵抗，有时含公然挑衅之意。

withstand： 较正式用词，指坚强地抵抗攻击或压力，有时也指抗住影响或吸引力。

resist： 指积极地反抗一种攻击或暴力，或诱惑。

I wouldn't have dared to defy my teachers.

我可不敢不听老师的话。

牛津词典

Hundreds of people today defied the ban on political gatherings.

今天有数百人违抗禁止政治集会的规定。

牛津词典

a political move that defies explanation

无法解释的政治举动

牛津词典

The beauty of the scene defies description.

景色之美简直难以描绘。

牛津词典

The baby boy defied all the odds and survived (= stayed alive when it seemed certain that he would die) .

这名男婴九死一生活了下来。

牛津词典

I defy anyone not to cry at the end of the film.

我倒要看看有谁在电影结尾时不哭。

牛津词典

The singer continues to defy her age by wearing the scantiest of outfits.

那名女歌手依旧穿着非常暴露的服装，完全不似她这把岁数。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

It's a devastating and barbaric act that defies all comprehension.

这种行为野蛮凶残、令人震惊，简直是不可理喻。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

When the flowers open in spring they fill the night air with a fragrance that defies description...

春天鲜花开放时，夜里的空气中会弥漫一种难以名状的香气。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He looked at me as if he was defying me to argue.

他看着我，仿佛在激我与他争论。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

This was the first (and last) time that I dared to defy my mother...

这是我第一次(也是最后一次)胆敢反抗我的母亲。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Nearly eleven-thousand people have been arrested for defying the ban on street trading.

将近有1.1万人因为违抗禁止在街上摆摊交易的禁令而被捕。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

I defy you to come up with one major accomplishment of the current Prime Minister...

我敢说你讲不出现任首相的哪怕一项重大成就。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Let them do their worst! ( I defy them to do their worse! )

让他们蛮干好 啦 ( 我不相信他们敢蛮干 )!

辞典例句

The expansion of industry, communications and exchange will defy the imagination of past generations.

工业 、 交通和交换事业的发展,更是前人所不能设想的.

期刊摘选

Time is finite and infinite. I defy the indefinite definition.

时间既是有限的又是无限的. 我公然对抗这个模糊的定义.

期刊摘选

Conservatives would defy our efforts at bootstrap improvements.

保守派会蔑视我们从根本上变革的努力.

期刊摘选

Just being with you feels like I can defy the whole world.

仅仅和你在在一起的感觉可以让我放弃全世界.

期刊摘选

We defy them to saddle the blame on the miners.

我们抗议他们强迫矿工们接受指责.

期刊摘选

They defy difficulties and advance wave upon wave.

他们不怕困难,前扑后继.

辞典例句

Members of a group of mostly aquatic, photosynthetic organisms ( see photosynthesis ) that defy precise definition.

一群主要是水生的 、 能行 光合作用 而无法精确定义的有机体.

期刊摘选

The terrorists defy the government and successively practice the bombing activity.

恐怖组织蔑视政府,接连实施爆炸活动.

期刊摘选

Neurological illnesses sometimes defy understanding, Dr. Lachance said and this seemed to be one of them.

Lachance博士说,神经系统疾患有时让人费解, 这个病,好像就是其中一例.

期刊摘选

The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.

松柏参天傲霜雪.

《简明英汉词典》

I defy you to prove that I have cheated.

我敢说你不能证明我曾行骗.

辞典例句

Death defy the doctor.

死亡不畏医生.

期刊摘选