Sentence Examples:
The left group defied the nests of machine guns hidden among the rocks and broke down the defense.
The curious characters loafing, begging, buying and selling, quite defy description, though the resemblance of many to the ape tribe was conspicuous.
Only wait till you are in my power, and you shall learn that I was never yet defied with impunity.
The ordinary process of law was no longer adequate, and the fatal impression prevailed that the Government could be defied with impunity.
He would defy any man to show the principle upon which a difference could exist with regard to us and the other sacrificed countries, in the wishes and the desires of the combined Powers.
Let ten thousand devils come against me, and give me but the ten meals I have lost, and I'd defy them all.
I have taken this course for the sake of my daughter Olivia, who is dear to me, and whom I would not wish to make ashamed; and in deference to public opinion, which it is not easy to defy.
The condition of man is pitched so high, in its joys and in its sorrows, that the sum which two married people owe to each other defies calculation.
Let them accuse me now, I defy their malice, for my royal mistress believes in me, and loves me.
Many people had noted the curious effect of that tone and had resolved to defy it at the next opportunity, "just to see what the consequences would be."
"See what happens to those who stand up and defy their fate," said Ida to herself with a bitter laugh.
The fugitive slave law was never believed in and never obeyed, and it was openly violated and defied by the great mass of the people of the North.
Their hair was golden as the sun; their hair flew in the wind, shining and wild, as if it defied men to restrain it.
How can you talk of defying fortune; nobody lives without it, and therefore why should you imagine you could?
We might defy all that fortune could do, and putting off all disguise and constraint, with that which only made it necessary, make our lives as easy to us as the condition of this world will permit.
I defy any man to guess what could tempt a woman to refuse five and twenty thousand a year; unless, indeed, she has something higher in view, and even then she should be pretty sure of her mark.
He saw again the foolish, elegant, brilliant thing on the chimney pretending to defy him and mock at him.
Lincoln designed to save the Union "by recognizing, obeying, and enforcing the laws, or by ignoring, disregarding, and in fact defying them."
And then I perceived that I could understand and solve problems which had defied thousands of years of human philosophy, problems which we on earth called fundamental.
Had she been near her home, her knowledge would have defied the powers of this most deadly serpent's bite; for she knew antidotes for every poison.
Her arrogance was not of the small-minded sort; and the best chance with her was to defy her.
The succession of short or long intervals was entirely different and the message, if message it was, defied our persistent efforts at translation.
The fort was built of stone and brick, while the door, made of thick posts, and lined with sheets of copper, would have defied, for a long time, the power of their axes or fire.
The two girls were however soon seated in Connie's room, where a blazing fire defied the sudden cold of a raw and bleak October.
And as she spoke, the power within her surged upwards, defying constraint, dominating her with a mastery irresistible.
At least, I shall certainly not help you to do it, and if you defy me you must take the consequences.
I please myself with thinking that my Angelo has blocked a Colossus which may stand in the public square to defy all competitors.
Distance defied close description; but the shape of the body and the nature of its movements did not at first imply intelligence.
Then, springing to his feet, Roland defies these cowardly foes, who, not daring to linger any longer, turn and flee, crying that Roland has won and Spain is lost unless the emir comes to their rescue!
And yet there were moments when the vigor that had led her once to defy Valentine, when the fire that had sprung up in her, as a flame may burst forth in a swamp, seemed to be near to her again.
It happened that his mother mourned for him from the depths of her heart with a sorrow which defies years and death.
Only after three hours' desperate fighting did they master the southern suburbs, and at nightfall the walls still defied their assaults.
Were it not for the numbers of Americans in our ranks, we might defy all their efforts against this part of the province.
Workers assemble to see moving pictures of labor demonstrations, and a labor meeting has defied the police in attendance by singing the whole of the "Song of Revolution."
The bush that had moved against the wind had ceased stirring long since, but now he saw another shaking and it, too, paid no attention to the laws of nature, defying the wind as the first had done.
For over a century in Ireland we have defied the laws of political economy, but they have conquered us at last.
Our position then was a curious one, for we had actually walked quite in the open up to within speaking distance of the main Boer position, a position that was to defy our army for a day and a half.
Canning have, unfortunately, I must be allowed to say, been made public enough, and I defy any man to point out anything like personal feelings in those communications.
If ten Pats had stood scowling in the way Ben would have defied them all, and vaulting over the fence he ran up with a shining face, hoping she wanted some last favor of him.
Ventilation, seemingly the simplest and easiest of things to be accomplished, has thus far apparently defied architects and engineers.
In this rough wilderness spot she felt secure from their grasp, and with John Hampton near she was ready and willing to defy the whole world.
She stretched forth her arms in a great gesture, wherein it seemed that surely she defied earth and heaven.
The gale now raged with the most violent fury, which defies all description: whole forests seemed, as it were, swept away by the roots, and many of the trees were carried to a considerable distance.
She felt herself, however, in a position to defy Josephine, and she returned to the Manor fairly well pleased.
The man who first attempted this awful route and defied its terrors must have had a heart of adamant.
They were rendered furious by thunder, and defied the deity whom they supposed to have sent it; they called out loudly to it, and if that did not suffice, they took arms against it.
It bends and breaks not under the wildest winds, it thrives on poor soil, and defies mist and cold.
Who then would dare to pursue him at the bottom of the sea, when, on its surface, he defied all attempts made against him?
Most of the terms employed are such as to defy any attempt to trace the process of reasoning which led to their adoption.
We cut our bread, which, as every True Believer knows, is a wicked act and defies Providence, since bread is from Allah and may be broken with the hand but never touched with a knife.
Finally, make your customer understand in more or less plain terms that you defy all the police in the world to discover his jewel.
He says, 'I defy the wisest of you to tell me why I am here, and being here, what good is gained by my assisting to bring others here.'
It stood there, a dark mass, defying the storm, although the huge waves splashed right up to the windows.
To be sure, Gray had been defying properly appointed officers of the government engaged in performing their sworn task.
Of the lights and shadows on land and sea the effects of the mists and the combination of color that defied mere paint.
The whole story reached the ears of the school authorities, and we got, what I thought I richly deserved (for having allowed any mortal being to defy a ghost) but what I need not say.
Yet with the bright patience of her smile she defied the remote suspicion that she had shed a tear or so before leaving home.
And the most terrible thing about it is, that the villain is right when he defies me to force him to confess his crime publicly for I see no means of obtaining a confession, none whatever.
They were rugged, hardy, courageous men who had looked death in the face many times, defying it, mocking it; and no visible danger could have disturbed them.
It is the attainment of physical courage, or courage to defy a threat of physical injury, that military training aims at.
And at the end of the letter is the one cry which, since the world was young, has defied and brought to naught the doubting counsels of wiser heads: "We love each other with all our hearts."
I defy the orders of the Court of Directors, because it is necessary for me to show that I can disregard them, as a signal of my own authority.
By combining a store with a public house, she managed still to defy the progress of time as well as the absence of guests.
He sat close to the trunk of the dead tree, defying the dogs and spitting at them until they were almost upon him.
In attempting to enlarge this, the drill broke, the fragment remaining in the cavity, and defying every effort used for its removal.
One of the latter standing up to settle his cloak, those who were opposite thought he was for defying them.
"Reverence, that angel of the world," is the ultimate bond of civil society, and can never be defied with impunity, it is the saving sanction of social order.
The Quartermaster is respectable, but he will never get any farther; whereas you, Jasper, have the gift, and may one day defy any who pull trigger.
Old Satan was defied, dared to come forth and show himself to this assembly, true soldiers of the cross.
The Turks would have at least a fortnight to concentrate their whole force against my half force; to defeat them and then to defy the other half.
He defied it every morning when he ran for his train, although he knew that he thereby weakened his heart.
The loss of the allies, however, was very large; as they were not provided, as were the Spaniards, with armor which defied the missiles of the enemy.
Hiding in mountain caves and in inaccessible districts, he defied pursuit, and in a measure kept alive the flame of rebellion.
Without will power I should have been killed long ago by these people, but through that agency alone I have been enabled to defy death and I promise you that I shall get well in spite of them.
This was a crushing blow to the hopes of the rank and file of the Irish Republican Army, and there were many who were inclined to defy the Federal authorities and fight their way over the border.
"Until he does," said Wayne, calmly, "the power and government of this great nation is on my side and not yours, and I defy you to defy it."
The first man who defied the new laws was one Dawson, a carpenter, scarcely less courageous than Meek himself.
"I am of his friends," said Nell, and I defy any man on earth to have given the lie to such a claim so made.
With Tom at home and entirely well again, she felt that she could this time defy fate in setting her wedding day for the sixteenth of November.
The man, whose name proved to be Enoch Willis, was a marvelous hand at a blow, and she kept him a week, splitting some pine knots that defied her and the boy who ordinarily chopped her wood.
The Ancient Mariner leaped suddenly upward with a speed that defied the eyes of the men at the rays of the enemy ships.
Lands really belonging to it were in many instances held by powerful persons, who under various pretences defied the rights of the religious house.
She was downright frightened, and said she hoped she knew better than to defy her director; she laid her will at his feet, and would obey him like a child, as was her duty.
Yet she reflected that it was a very short time now until Commencement, and that Rosa had not openly defied any rules.
The fort was built of stone and brick, while the door, made of thick posts, and lined with sheets of copper, would have defied for a long time, the power of their axes or fire.
And yet you ask a woman for whom you scarcely bear a passing affection to run away with you, to defy public opinion for your sake, and so forth.
We defy the Westminster Reviewer to reconcile this passage with the "general happiness principle" as he now states it.
Olaf understood at once, sprang on his back, and held on tight, while Hake, bending low, sped away at a pace that defied pursuit, though by that time a hundred savages were almost at his heels!
"Why, Fred," said she, "they seem to be defying us, which is a mighty bold thing for them to do in the open daylight."
Give me the power to stand on my own patch of ground and defy Alice every Monday morning when the weekly wash is ready to be hung out, and I will cheerfully risk the future.
If a Spartan wife throws off her bondage and defies the laws that insult her, I am still more glad.
Needless to say, this form of muscular contraction is entirely involuntary; it even defies the most earnest attempts at prevention.
It is said women and children defied all dangers, brought food and helped push the towers against the walls.
And with the central inspiration of his life there mixed in his followers ideas more or less foreign to him, so that the result in the Gospels is a composite which often defies certainty of analysis.
And a young woman rushed forth, threw her arm about the hanging body, and with flashing eyes turned and defied the knights.
I defy him and all his falsehood; and get you away from me, you do but trouble my conscience.
It was well for him to see the patient endurance of suffering, such as his youth and strength defied.
He needn't think because he's eight feet high, more or less, that he can defy the laws of the land.
It conveys to me the news that we are passing through an Atlantic fog, and I defy anyone, be they in the most perfect ship, under the safest of commanders, to feel comfortable in such circumstances.
She was the last woman in the world who would seem to need protection, yet he had a savage primitive desire to protect her, to put his arm about her and defy the world, if need be.