different between defiant vs bossy

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French défiant, from the verb défier. Doublet of diffident.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??fa?(j)?nt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /d??fa??nt/
• Rhymes: -a??nt

Adjective

defiant (comparative more defiant, superlative most defiant)

1. Defying.
2. Boldly resisting opposition.
   • 2013 June 18, Simon Romero, "Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders," New York Times (retrieved 21 June 2013):

     But the demonstrators remained defiant, pouring into the streets by the thousands and venting their anger over political corruption, the high cost of living and huge public spending for the World Cup and the Olympics.

Synonyms

• dareful
• rebellious

Antonyms

• docile, obedient, submissive
• dominant

Translations

Noun

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.

Further reading

• defiant in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• defiant in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• fainted

Latin

Verb

d?f?ant

1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of d?f??

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?b?si/
• (cot-caught merger, Canada) IPA^(key): /?b?si/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?si/, /?b?s?/
• Rhymes: -?si, -??si

Etymology 1

boss +? -y

Adjective

bossy (comparative bossier, superlative bossiest)

1. Tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering.

Synonyms

• dictatorial, authoritarian, commanding, tyrannical, demanding, inflexible
• see also Thesaurus:bossy

Translations

Etymology 2

Diminutive of dialectal English boss, as used in the term boss-calf (which, like buss-calf, is a variant form of boose-calf, a calf kept in a boose (“stall”)).

Noun

bossy (plural bossies)

1. (US, informal, dated) A cow or calf.
   • about 1900, O. Henry, Hygeia at the Solito

     A week before, while riding the prairies, Raidler had come upon a sick and weakling calf deserted and bawling. Without dismounting he had reached and slung the distressed bossy across his saddle, and dropped it at the ranch for the boys to attend to.

Etymology 3

boss +? -y

Adjective

bossy (comparative more bossy, superlative most bossy)

1. Ornamented with bosses; studded.

Anagrams

• sybos

Lower Sorbian

Adjective

bossy

1. Obsolete spelling of bósy