defy

1. resist or confront with resistance;

"The politician defied public opinion"

"The new material withstands even the greatest wear and tear"

"The bridge held"

2. elude, especially in a baffling way;

"This behavior defies explanation"

3. challenge;

"I dare you!"

de-, 不，非，使相反。-fy, 同-fid, 相信，词源同faith, confident. 即不再相信，引申义违抗。

defy

defy: [14] The underlying notion of defy is of the renunciation of allegiance. It comes via Old French defier from a Vulgar Latin *disfidāre ‘renounce one’s faith’, a compound verb formed from the prefix dis-, denoting reversal, and Latin fīdus ‘trusting’. This adjective came from a lengthened variant of the stem which produced fidēs ‘faith’, source of English faith.

The word’s current main sense represents a slight shift from ‘being disloyal’ to actively ‘challenging someone’s power’. The verb’s noun derivative defiance [14], borrowed from Old French, has a first cousin in diffidence [15], originally ‘distrustfulness’, which came from the classical Latin compound verb diffidere ‘mistrust’.
=> diffidence, faith

defy (v.)

c. 1300, "to renounce one's allegiance;" mid-14c., "to challenge, defy," from Old French defier, desfier "to challenge, defy, provoke; renounce (a belief), repudiate (a vow, etc.)," from Vulgar Latin *disfidare "renounce one's faith," from Latin dis- "away" (see dis-) + fidus "faithful," from the same root as fides "faith" (see faith).

oppose, defy, withstand, resist

这些动词均含有"反抗，抵抗"之意。

oppose： 普通用词，可表不同程度的抵抗。

defy： 指公开地、勇敢地反对或抵抗，有时含公然挑衅之意。

withstand： 较正式用词，指坚强地抵抗攻击或压力，有时也指抗住影响或吸引力。

resist： 指积极地反抗一种攻击或暴力，或诱惑。

1. Her criteria defy analysis.

她的标准让人搞不明白。

来自柯林斯例句

2. I wouldn't have dared to defy my teachers.

我可不敢不听老师的话。

来自《权威词典》

3. The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.

松柏参天傲霜雪.

来自《简明英汉词典》

4. If you defy the law, you may find yourself in prison.

如果你不服从法律, 你就可能会坐牢.

来自《简明英汉词典》

5. I defy anyone to disprove the defendant's statements.

我倒要看看有没有人能对被告的陈述进行反驳.

来自《简明英汉词典》