defy

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++de·fy /dɪˈfaɪ/ ●●○ verb (defied, defying, defies) [transitive]  1  DISOBEYto refuse to obey a law or rule, or refuse to do what someone in authority tells you to do 违抗〔法律或规则〕；拒不服从〔有权威者〕 → defiance people who openly defy the law 公然抗拒法律的人► see thesaurus at disobey2  defy description/analysis/belief etc DESCRIBEto be almost impossible to describe or understand 无法描述/分析/相信等 The beauty of the scene defies description. 景色之美简直无法形容。3  defy logic/the odds etc to not happen according to the principles you would expect 不合逻辑/出人意料等 a 16-week premature baby who defied the odds and survived 奇迹般活下来的早产16周的婴儿4  I defy somebody to do something ASK FOR something/ASK somebody TO DO something spoken formal used when you ask someone to do something that you think is impossible 我倒要看某人能否做成某事 I defy anyone to prove otherwise. 我倒要看看哪一位能提出反证。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

defy• Billy defied his mother, and smoked openly in the house.• For the song of the suffering servant helps unlock the mystery that defies logic.• It is an industry that, recently anyway, almost defies logic.• Through their various plights, the drama questions a world where feminine ideals regularly defy rational explanation.• Only deer slots in the mud have defied the access restrictions.• The conservatives surprised everyone by agreeing to defy the government and overspend by almost as much ... ten million.• Scopes was forbidden to teach Darwin's theory of evolution, but he defied the law.• She said she would defy the party leader and vote against him.• Its meteoric ascent defied the usual explanations.• This celebration of Thanksgiving defies tradition.Origin defy (1300-1400) Old French defier, from Latin fidere “to trust”

de·fy verbChineseSyllable  

rule, law to or refuse to Corpus or a obey refuse

defy
de‧fy /dɪˈfaɪ/ verb (past tense and past participle defied, present participle defying, third person singular defies) [transitive]1. to refuse to obey a law or rule, or refuse to do what someone in authority tells you to do ⇨ defiance:
    people who openly defy the law
2. defy description/analysis/belief etc to be almost impossible to describe or understand:
    The beauty of the scene defies description.
3. defy logic/the odds etc to not happen according to the principles you would expect:
    a 16-week premature baby who defied the odds and survived
4. I defy somebody to do something spoken formal used when you ask someone to do something that you think is impossible:
    I defy anyone to prove otherwise.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ disobey to not obey a person, order, rule, or law: In the army, it is a crime to disobey a superior officer. | He had disobeyed the school rules.
   ▪ break a law/rule to not obey a law or rule: Anyone who breaks the law must expect to be punished.
   ▪ defy formal to deliberately refuse to obey a rule or law, or what someone in authority tells you to do: The police arrested the youth for defying a court order.
   ▪ flout /flaʊt/ formal to deliberately disobey a rule or law in a very public way: Timber companies are continuing to flout environmental laws.
   ▪ violate formal to disobey a law, or do something that is against an agreement or principle: Both countries have accused each other of violating the treaty. | Technically he had violated the law.
   ▪ contravene formal to be against a law, rule, or agreement, or to do something that is against a law, rule, or agreement: The British government’s actions contravened the European Convention on Human Rights.

defyBrE /dɪˈfaɪ/ 🔊NAmE /dɪˈfaɪ/ 🔊 verbpresent simple - I / you / we / they defy BrE /dɪˈfaɪ/ 🔊 NAmE /dɪˈfaɪ/ 🔊present simple - he / she / it defies BrE /dɪˈfaɪz/ 🔊 NAmE /dɪˈfaɪz/ 🔊past simple defied BrE /dɪˈfaɪd/ 🔊 NAmE /dɪˈfaɪd/ 🔊past participle defied BrE /dɪˈfaɪd/ 🔊 NAmE /dɪˈfaɪd/ 🔊 -ing form defying BrE /dɪˈfaɪɪŋ/ 🔊 NAmE /dɪˈfaɪɪŋ/ 🔊defy verbdefiance noundefiant adjective~ sb/sth to refuse to obey or show respect for sb in authority, a law, a rule, etc. 违抗；反抗；蔑视◆I wouldn't have dared to defy my teachers. 我可不敢不听老师的话。🔊🔊◆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。🔊🔊~ belief, explanation, description, etc. to be impossible or almost impossible to believe, explain, describe, etc. 不可能，无法（相信、解释、描绘等）◆a political move that defies explanation无法解释的政治举动◆The beauty of the scene defies description. 景色之美简直难以描绘。🔊🔊~ sth to successfully resist sth to a very unusual degree 经受住；顶住；抗住◆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。🔊🔊●I defy you/anyone to do sthused to say that sb should try to do sth, as a way of emphasizing that you think it is impossible to do it 激，挑动（某人尽力做你认为不可能的事）◆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。🔊🔊