defensiveness.

A tendency to protect one's self-image by resisting or deflecting criticism.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• emotional defensiveness
• reduce defensiveness

On the page

The accusation prompted defensiveness rather than reflection.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / human behavior. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: character, interpretation. Commonness: moderately common.