defiant.

Showing clear resistance to authority, pressure, or a demand.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• defiant gesture
• defiant response

On the page

A defiant gesture replaced the apology they expected.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / human behavior. Forms: Comparative more defiant; superlative most defiant when comparison is meaningful. 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, behavior. Commonness: moderately common.