different between defensive vs defend

English

Etymology

From Middle French défensif

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??f?ns?v/

Adjective

defensive (comparative more defensive, superlative most defensive)

1. Intended for defence; protective.

2. Intended to deter attack.

3. Performed so as to minimise risk.

4. Displaying an inordinate sensitivity to criticism or intrusion; oversensitive; thin-skinned.
5. (cricket) Of a bowling or fielding tactic designed to prevent the other side from scoring runs; of a batting tactic designed to prevent being out.
6. (chiefly sports) Pertaining to defense, as opposed to attack.
7. In a state or posture of defense.

Antonyms

• offensive

Translations

Noun

defensive (plural defensives)

1. A means, attitude or position of defense.

Translations

Related terms

• on the defensive

German

Adjective

defensive

1. inflection of defensiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Latin

Adjective

d?f?ns?ve

1. vocative masculine singular of d?f?ns?vus

English

Etymology

From Middle English defenden, from Old French deffendre (Modern French défendre), from Latin d?fend? (“to ward off”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *g??en-.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??f?nd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /d??f?nd/, /di?f?nd/, /d??f?nd/
• Rhymes: -?nd

Verb

defend (third-person singular simple present defends, present participle defending, simple past and past participle defended)

1. (transitive) To ward off attacks against; to fight to protect; to guard.
2. (transitive) To support by words or writing; to vindicate, talk in favour of.
3. (transitive, law) To make legal defence of; to represent (the accused).
4. (sports) To focus one's energies and talents on preventing opponents from scoring, as opposed to focusing on scoring.
5. (sports) To attempt to retain a title, or attempt to reach the same stage in a competition as one did in the previous edition of that competition.
6. (poker slang) To call a raise from the big blind.
7. (transitive, obsolete) To ward off, repel (an attack or attacker).
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.viii:

     The vertue is, that neither steele, nor stone / The stroke thereof from entrance may defend […].

8. (transitive, obsolete) To prevent, to keep (from doing something).
9. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To prohibit, forbid.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:defend

Antonyms

• attack

Related terms

• defender
• defense, defence
• defensive

Translations

Anagrams

• fended