Borrowed from French défiant, from the verb défier.

• (British) IPA: /dɪˈfaɪ(j)ənt/
• (America) IPA: /dɪˈfaɪənt/

defiant

1. Defying.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 15, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC ↗:

     She paused and took a defiant breath. ‘If you don't believe me, I can't help it. But I'm not a liar.’ ¶ ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? A bootee or a bit of embroidery or anything at all?’

2. Boldly resisting opposition.

• dareful
• rebellious

• docile, obedient, submissive
• dominant

• German: keck, frech, trotzig
• Italian: insolente, spavaldo, provocatorio
• Portuguese: desafiador
• Russian: непоко́рный
• Spanish: desafiante

• German: trotzig
• Italian: ribelle, apertamente disobbediente
• Russian: непоко́рный
• Spanish: fresco, contestatario

defiant (plural defiants)

1. One who defies opposition.
   • 1966, British Broadcasting Corporation. Monitoring Service, Summary of World Broadcasts: Non-Arab Africa (issues 2262-2303)

     Countries condemning South Africa, Portugal and Rhodesia still find it necessary to trade with these defiants against so-called world opinion.

   • John Michael Doris, Lack of Character: Personality and Moral Behavior (page 48)

     Damn the obedients and hail the defiants if you will; the experiment does not motivate confidence about how particular subjects would behave in markedly dissimilar situations.