Definitions for DEFENSIVE
dɪˈfɛn sɪvde·fen·sive

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. defensive, defensive attitudeadjective

   an attitude of defensiveness (especially in the phrase `on the defensive')

2. defensiveadjective

   intended or appropriate for defending against or deterring aggression or attack

   "defensive weapons"; "a defensive stance"

3. defensive, justificative, justificatoryadjective

   attempting to justify or defend in speech or writing

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. defensivenoun

   A means, attitude or position of defense.

2. defensiveadjective

   Intended for defence; protective

3. defensiveadjective

   Intended to deter attack

4. defensiveadjective

   Performed so as to minimise risk

5. defensiveadjective

   Displaying an inordinate sensitivity to criticism; compare paranoid

6. defensiveadjective

   Of a bowling or fielding tactic designed to prevent the other side from scoring runs.; of a batting tactic designed to prevent being out.

7. defensiveadjective

   pertaining to defense, as opposed to attack.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Defensiveadjective

   Etymology: defensif, Fr. from defendens, Latin.

   1. That serves to defend; proper for defence; not offensive.

   He would not be persuaded by danger to offer any offence, but only to stand upon the best defensive guard he could. Philip Sidney.

   My unpreparedness for war, testifies for me, that I am set on the defensive part. Charles I .

   Defensive arms lay by, as useless here,
   Where massy balls the neighbouring rocks do tear. Edmund Waller.

   2. In a state or posture of defence.

   What stood, recoil’d,
   Defensive scarce, or with pale fear surpriz’d,
   Fled ignominious. John Milton.

2. Defensivenoun

   Etymology: from the adjective.

   1. Safeguard.

   Wars preventive upon just fears, are true defensives, as well as on actual invasions. Francis Bacon, War with Spain.

   2. State of defence.

   His majesty, not at all dismayed, resolved to stand upon the defensive only. Edward Hyde, b. viii.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Defensiveadjective

   serving to defend or protect; proper for defense; opposed to offensive; as, defensive armor

2. Defensiveadjective

   carried on by resisting attack or aggression; -- opposed to offensive; as, defensive war

3. Defensiveadjective

   in a state or posture of defense

4. Defensivenoun

   that which defends; a safeguard

5. Etymology: [Cf. F. dfensif.]

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. defensive

   A force is said to be on the defensive, or to assume a defensive attitude, when it takes up a position to receive an attack.

British National Corpus

1. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'DEFENSIVE' in Adjectives Frequency: #871

How to pronounce DEFENSIVE?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say DEFENSIVE in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of DEFENSIVE in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of DEFENSIVE in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of DEFENSIVE in a Sentence

1. Kyrie Irving:

   We’re going to have to make our staple as a team on the defensive end, because if we’re going back and forth in a shooting contest, obviously we’ll still be in the game but can lead to mistakes on our end.

2. Brian Brennan:

   Treat next year as being more defensive in your approach.

3. Alireza Jafarzadeh:

   The engineering unit that is charged and tasked with actually building the bomb in a secret way for the Iranian regime is called the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research.

4. Jamie Allen:

   The usual cycle is that investors come along, make recommendations, and the mere fact that it's done publicly often is very off-putting to boards, so their initial reaction is to be very defensive and to react against them, but if the idea is a good one, then quite often the company will start taking them seriously.

5. Rory Powe:

   Some of the consumer staples considered to be defensive have quite significant exposure to China ... They aren't necessarily a sanctuary.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=DEFENSIVE
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Defensive
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=DEFENSIVE
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/DEFENSIVE
5. ^ Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59563/pg59563-images.html