defensive
Pronunciation: /dɪˈfɛn.sɪv/
The English word “defensive” has 8 meanings listed here.
adjective
- Intended for defence; protective.
- Intended to deter attack.
- Performed so as to minimise risk.
- Displaying an inordinate sensitivity to criticism or intrusion; oversensitive; thin-skinned.
- Of a bowling or fielding tactic designed to prevent the other side from scoring runs; of a batting tactic designed to prevent being out.
- Pertaining to defense, as opposed to attack.
- In a state or posture of defense.
noun
Etymology
From Middle French défensif. Morphologically defense + -ive.
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More English words
- defensible
- defensibleness
- defensibly
- defensin
- defensive back
- defensive copy
- defensive copying
- defensive design
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.