de ‧ fy /dɪˈfaɪ/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle defied , present participle defying , third person singular defies ) [transitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: defier , from Latin fidere 'to trust' ]
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.
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THESAURUS
▪ disobey to not obey a person, order, rule, or law:
In the army, it is a crime to disobey a superior officer.
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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.
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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.