Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Defiance

Defiance , noun

[Old French defiance, desfiance, challenge, from desfier to challenge, French défier. See Defy.]

1.
The act of defying, putting in opposition, or provoking to combat; a challenge; a provocation; a summons to combat.
A war without a just defiance made. — Dryden
Stood for her cause, and flung defiance down. — Tennyson
2.
A state of opposition; willingness to flight; disposition to resist; contempt of opposition.
He breathed defiance to my ears. — Shakespeare
3.
A casting aside; renunciation; rejection. [Obsolete]
Defiance to thy kindness. — Ford
Collocations (1)
To bid defiance or To set at defiance , to defy; to disregard recklessly or contemptuously. — Locke