set at defiance

verb

To defy, flout; violate or disobey shamelessly.

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Meanings

verbset at defiance (third-person singular simple present sets at defiance, present participle setting at defiance, simple past and past participle set at defiance)

present singular third person sets at defiance · participle present setting at defiance

  1. To defy, flout; violate or disobey shamelessly.

    In the town of Angla […] no person may appear on horseback in the streets […]. In former days even Europeans were forbidden to ride on horseback in Angla; and missionaries who attempted to set the local prejudice at defiance have been pelted with sticks and dirt by the outraged natives.

    1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 8, page 45
Cite this entry
APA

set at defiance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/set%20at%20defiance

MLA

“set at defiance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/set%20at%20defiance. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “set at defiance,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/set%20at%20defiance.

Source: set at defiance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.