Thesaurus
defiance
noun
Synonyms and Antonyms of DEFIANCE
1
refusal to obey <any defiance of the authoritarian regime would have dire consequences>
Synonyms balkiness, contrariness, contumacy, defiance, frowardness, insubordination, intractability, obstreperousness, rebellion, rebelliousness, recalcitrance, refractoriness, unruliness, waywardness, willfulness
Related Words civil disobedience, noncooperation; discourteousness, disrespect, impertinence, impoliteness, impudence, inconsiderateness, inconsideration, insolence, rudeness, ungraciousness; doggedness, hardheadedness, mulishness, obduracy, obdurateness, obstinacy, obstinateness, peevishness, pertinaciousness, pertinacity, perversity, pigheadedness, self-will, stubbornness, tenaciousness, tenacity; knavery, mischievousness, naughtiness
Near Antonyms agreeability, amenability, amiability; slavishness, submissiveness, subservience, subserviency; trainability; deference, docility, dutifulness
Antonyms compliance, obedience, submission, subordinateness, subordination, tractability, tractableness
2
the inclination to resist <the troubled youth seems to have an ingrained defiance to authority of any sort>
Synonyms defiance, opposition
Related Words demur, objection, protest, remonstrance; compunction, misgiving, reservation; disobedience, noncompliance, recalcitrance
Antonyms acquiescence
3
an inclination to fight or quarrel <a deeply troubled person who seemed the very soul of defiance>
Synonyms aggression, aggressiveness, assaultiveness, bellicosity, belligerency, combativeness, contentiousness, defiance, disputatiousness, feistiness, fight, militance, militancy, militantness, pugnacity, quarrelsomeness, scrappiness, truculence
Related Words antagonism, fierceness, hostility, hyperaggressiveness, unfriendliness; imperialism, jingoism, militarism; acidity, biliousness, captiousness, crabbiness, crankiness, crossness, disagreeableness, fractiousness, fretfulness, grouchiness, grumpiness, huffiness, irascibility, irascibleness, irritability, irritableness, orneriness, peevishness, pettishness, petulance, querulousness, rudeness, surliness, testiness, waspishness
Near Antonyms antiaggression, anti-imperialism, antimilitarism; affability, amiability, amicability, benevolence, cordiality, friendliness, geniality, graciousness, pleasantness, sociability; gentleness, kindliness, mildness; amenability, complaisance, placability
Antonyms nonaggression, pacifism
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