| Library / English Dictionary |
DEFENCE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of defending someone or something against attack or injury
Example:
defense against hurricanes is an urgent problem
Synonyms:
defence; defense
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
protection (the activity of protecting someone or something)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Protection from harm
Example:
sanitation is the best defense against disease
Synonyms:
defence; defense
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
protection (the activity of protecting someone or something)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(military) military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies
Example:
they were developed for the defense program
Synonyms:
defence; defense; defensive measure
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
action; military action (a military engagement)
Domain category:
armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "defence"):
umbrella (a formation of military planes maintained over ground operations or targets)
air defense (defensive measures designed to destroy attacking enemy aircraft or missiles or to nullify their effectiveness)
stand (a defensive effort)
hasty defence; hasty defense (a defense organized while in contact with the enemy or when time is limited)
deliberate defence; deliberate defense (a defense organized before contact is made with the enemy and while time for organization is available; usually includes a fortified zone (with pillboxes) and communication systems)
biodefence; biodefense; biological defence; biological defense (procedures involved in taking defensive measures against attacks using biological agents)
chemical defence; chemical defense (procedures involved in taking defensive measures against attacks using chemical agents)
minelaying; mining (laying explosive mines in concealed places to destroy enemy personnel and equipment)
biological warfare defence; biological warfare defense; BW defence; BW defense (defense against biological warfare)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charges against him
Example:
he gave evidence for the defense
Synonyms:
defence; defense; demurrer; denial
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
due process; due process of law ((law) the administration of justice according to established rules and principles; based on the principle that a person cannot be deprived of life or liberty or property without appropriate legal procedures and safeguards)
Domain category:
jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "defence"):
entrapment (a defense that claims the defendant would not have broken the law if not tricked into doing it by law enforcement officials)
Holonyms ("defence" is a part of...):
trial ((law) the determination of a person's innocence or guilt by due process of law)
Sense 5
Meaning:
A structure used to defend against attack
Example:
the artillery battered down the defenses
Synonyms:
defence; defense; defensive structure
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "defence"):
cheval-de-frise; chevaux-de-frise (defensive structure consisting of a movable obstacle composed of barbed wire or spikes attached to a wooden frame; used to obstruct cavalry)
fortification; munition (defensive structure consisting of walls or mounds built around a stronghold to strengthen it)
fort; fortress (a fortified defensive structure)
line of defence; line of defense (defensive structure consisting of a barrier that can be employed for defense against attack)
outwork (subsidiary defensive structure lying outside the main fortified area)
fastness; stronghold (a strongly fortified defensive structure)
Sense 6
Meaning:
The justification for some act or belief
Example:
he offered a persuasive defense of the theory
Synonyms:
defence; defense; vindication
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
justification (a statement in explanation of some action or belief)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "defence"):
alibi; exculpation; excuse; self-justification (a defense of some offensive behavior or some failure to keep a promise etc.)
alibi ((law) a defense by an accused person purporting to show that he or she could not have committed the crime in question)
apologia; apology (a formal written defense of something you believe in strongly)
Derivation:
defend (argue or speak in defense of)
Sense 7
Meaning:
The speech act of answering an attack on your assertions
Example:
in defense he said the other man started it
Synonyms:
defence; defense; refutation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
answer (the speech act of replying to a question)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "defence"):
confutation (the speech act of refuting conclusively)
rebuttal (the speech act of refuting by offering a contrary contention or argument)
Sense 8
Meaning:
An organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack
Example:
he joined the defense against invasion
Synonyms:
defence; defence force; defense; defense force
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
organisation; organization (a group of people who work together)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "defence"):
bastion (a group that defends a principle)
Derivation:
defend (protect against a challenge or attack)
Sense 9
Meaning:
The defendant and his legal advisors collectively
Example:
the defense called for a mistrial
Synonyms:
defence; defense; defense lawyers; defense team
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)
Derivation:
defend (be the defense counsel for someone in a trial)
Sense 10
Meaning:
(sports) the team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring
Example:
his teams are always good on defense
Synonyms:
defence; defending team; defense
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
squad; team (a cooperative unit (especially in sports))
Domain category:
athletics; sport (an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition)
Antonym:
offence (the team that has the ball (or puck) and is trying to score)
Derivation:
defend (be on the defensive; act against an attack)
Sense 11
Meaning:
(psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
Synonyms:
defence; defence mechanism; defence reaction; defense; defense mechanism; defense reaction
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Hypernyms ("defence" is a kind of...):
process; unconscious process (a mental process that you are not directly aware of)
psychoanalytic process (a process that is assumed to occur in psychoanalytic theory)
Domain category:
psychiatry; psychological medicine; psychopathology (the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "defence"):
repression ((psychiatry) the classical defense mechanism that protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from becoming conscious)
regression ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which you flee from reality by assuming a more infantile state)
reaction formation ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously develops attitudes and behavior that are the opposite of unacceptable repressed desires and impulses and serve to conceal them)
rationalisation; rationalization ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your true motivation is concealed by explaining your actions and feelings in a way that is not threatening)
projection ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your own traits and emotions are attributed to someone else)
isolation ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which memory of an unacceptable act or impulse is separated from the emotion originally associated with it)
intellectualisation; intellectualization ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism that uses reasoning to block out emotional stress and conflict)
idealisation; idealization ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism that splits something you are ambivalent about into two representations--one good and one bad)
displacement ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism that transfers affect or reaction from the original object to some more acceptable one)
denial ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism that denies painful thoughts)
conversion ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism represses emotional conflicts which are then converted into physical symptoms that have no organic basis)
compensation ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism that conceals your undesirable shortcomings by exaggerating desirable behaviors)
Context examples:
What my next step may be will depend entirely upon the nature of your own defence.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Handwashing is a crucial coronavirus defence strategy, but millions of the world’s most vulnerable people have no access to water.
(Slightly dirty water ‘still ok’ against coronavirus, SciDev.Net)
The study findings suggest that stimulating antioxidant defences in mice reduces cognitive impairments caused by low blood sugar, which could help to improve the quality of life for diabetic patients.
(Antioxidants May Prevent Cognitive Impairment in Diabetes, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The cook backed away, a fiendish expression on his face, the knife held before him in a position of defence.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
That is to say, Lord Avon, that any defence which you may have to make will be decided upon by your peers and by the laws of your country.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
She thought well of Frank in almost every respect; and, what was more, she loved him very much, and her defence was, therefore, earnest.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
In defence of your protege you can even be saucy.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
He was anxious, while vindicating himself, to say nothing unkind of the others: but there was only one amongst them whose conduct he could mention without some necessity of defence or palliation.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
It was in line with these experiences that White Fang came to learn the law of property and the duty of the defence of property.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Well now, Jane, you know, or at least I will tell you, that when a criminal is accused, he is always allowed to speak in his own defence.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
