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I care about all the characters I play, and I get quite defensive about them.
Ben Chaplin

Meaning of "defensive" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF DEFENSIVE

defensive  [dɪˈfɛnsɪv] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF DEFENSIVE

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Defensive can act as a noun and an adjective.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES DEFENSIVE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of defensive in the English dictionary

The first definition of defensive in the dictionary is intended, suitable, or done for defence, as opposed to offence. Other definition of defensive is rejecting criticisms of oneself or covering up one's failings. Defensive is also a position of defence.


WORDS THAT RHYME WITH DEFENSIVE


apprehensive
ˌæprɪˈhɛnsɪv
ascensive
əˈsɛnsɪv
coextensive
ˌkəʊɪkˈstɛnsɪv
comprehensive
ˌkɒmprɪˈhɛnsɪv
counteroffensive
ˈkaʊntərəˌfɛnsɪv
energy-intensive
ˈɛnədʒɪɪnˈtɛnsɪv
expensive
ɪkˈspɛnsɪv
extensive
ɪkˈstɛnsɪv
hypotensive
ˌhaɪpəʊˈtɛnsɪv
incomprehensive
ˌɪnkɒmprɪˈhɛnsɪv
inexpensive
ˌɪnɪkˈspɛnsɪv
inoffensive
ˌɪnəˈfɛnsɪv
intensive
ɪnˈtɛnsɪv
normotensive
ˌnɔːməʊˈtɛnsɪv
offensive
əˈfɛnsɪv
ostensive
ɒˈstɛnsɪv
pensive
ˈpɛnsɪv
suspensive
səˈspɛnsɪv
tensive
ˈtɛnsɪv
unexpensive
ˌʌnɪkˈspɛnsɪv

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE DEFENSIVE

defendant
defender
Defender of the Faith
defending
defending counsel
defenestrate
defenestration
defensative
defense
defenseless
defenselessly
defenselessness
defenseman
defensibility
defensible
defensibleness
defensibly
defensive medicine
defensively
defensiveness

WORDS THAT END LIKE DEFENSIVE

capital-intensive
charm offensive
corresponsive
distensive
exclusive
expansive
hyperresponsive
hypertensive
irresponsive
labour-intensive
misapprehensive
nonresponsive
on the defensive
peace offensive
prehensive
reprehensive
responsive
self-defensive
the offensive
unoffensive
unresponsive

Synonyms and antonyms of defensive in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «DEFENSIVE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «defensive» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of defensive

Translation of «defensive» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF DEFENSIVE

Find out the translation of defensive to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of defensive from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «defensive» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

防御性的
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

defensivo
570 millions of speakers

English

defensive
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

बचाव की मुद्रा में
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

دفاعي
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

оборонительная
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

defensivo
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

আত্মরক্ষামূলক
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

défensif
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Pertahanan
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

defensiv
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

防御用の
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

방어용의
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Defensive
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

phòng thủ
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

தற்காப்பு
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

बचावात्मक
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

savunma
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

difensivo
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

obronny
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

оборонна
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

defensiv
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

αμυντικό
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

verdedigende
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

defensiv
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

defensiv
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of defensive

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «DEFENSIVE»

The term «defensive» is very widely used and occupies the 12.212 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
95
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «defensive» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of defensive
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «defensive».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «DEFENSIVE» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «defensive» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «defensive» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about defensive

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «DEFENSIVE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word defensive.
1
Francesca Annis
Everything has changed. An interview has become such a confrontational thing. It makes you very defensive.
2
Michael Ian Black
I don't think I was awake for much of my childhood. I did a lot of napping. This might have been a defensive measure against encroaching depression. Until about the age of eleven or twelve, I had zero interests other than trying to steal gumballs from supermarket gumball machines.
3
Alton Brown
I only really fake it anymore with sommeliers who are being really snotty to me and I don't want to take their grief and so I try to do something to kind of throw them off or put them on the defensive, even if I don't know what I'm talking about.
4
Trey Burke
I think college prepared me at a really high level. High school, you can take some plays off on the defensive end. Not on purpose, but if your man gets tired, you can rest a little bit. But once you get to college, and especially in the NBA, you can't do that. Even if my man gives the ball up, I'm on help side, helping my team out.
5
Vince Cable
We've been a bit too defensive about the European Union rules. We don't want to become protectionist and nationalist in the way we buy things but we think we could do a lot more to promote British business through procurement.
6
Ben Chaplin
I care about all the characters I play, and I get quite defensive about them.
7
Priyanka Chopra
I owe 90 per cent of my life to people because I am a public figure, but 10 per cent is private to me. And I am not saying it in a defensive way. I feel my life has been made into a TV serial.
8
Stephen Covey
When you show deep empathy toward others, their defensive energy goes down, and positive energy replaces it. That's when you can get more creative in solving problems.
9
Hugh Douglas
I have my meals delivered... you know what I like? Chicken and rice... But the problem with being a defensive lineman is, if we get out of hand with our eating, we balloon up to, like, 300-some pounds. So I really got to watch what I eat.
10
Clint Eastwood
You have to feel confident. If you don't, then you're going to be hesitant and defensive, and there'll be a lot of things working against you.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DEFENSIVE»

Discover the use of defensive in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to defensive and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Defensive Football Strategies
Now you can build the kind of defense that wins championships with Defensive Football Strategies. This complete collection of tactics, teachings, and insights comes from many of the game's best defensive minds from the past 40 years.
American Football Coaches Association, 2000
2
Arnsparger's Coaching Defensive Football
This is a complete defensive football coaching course packed into a single, hands-on reference. Students and athletes will learn from a master-and fans will find out what's behind the moves.
Bill Arnsparger, 1998
3
Soccer Strategies: Defensive and Attacking Tactics
A collection defensive and offensive soccer strategies.
Robyn Jones, 1999
4
Defensive Living: Preserving Your Personal Safety Through ...
Imagine a defensive training guide that has the informational firepower to keep cops safe presented in a way that's practical for your family to use to protect themselves, too.
Ed Lovette, Dave Spaulding, 2005
5
Defensive Design for the Web: How to Improve Error Messages, ...
Written by the experts at 37signals, this book shows hundreds of real-world examples from companies like Amazon, Google, and Yahoo that show the right (and wrong) ways to get defensive.
Matthew Linderman, Jason Fried, 2004
6
Defensive Softball Drills
All of the drills are accompanied by coaching points and detailed illustrations. The book also includes a handy drill finder for locating drills to work on specific areas and situations.
Jacquie Joseph, 1998
7
Defensive Mutualism in Microbial Symbiosis
Chapters Written by Field Authorities The book expands the concept of defensive mutualisms to evaluate defense against environmental abiotic and biotic stresses.
James F. White Jr., Monica S. Torres, 2009
8
101 Defensive Back Drills
101 drills that address the skills, techniques, and mechanics involved in sound defensive back play.
Ron Dickerson, James A. Peterson, 1997
9
Defensive Handgun Skills: Your Guide to Fundamentals for ...
It's All Here—in Defensive Handgun Skills! Written by certified firearms trainer David Fessenden, Defensive Handgun Skills is a simple, easy-to-follow guide to the techniques involved in carrying and using a defensive handgun.
David Fessenden, 2010
10
Defensive Tactics for the Security Professional
Philip Holder covers it all: from awareness training, liability issues, the psychology of defensive tactics and threat reduction;to applications of hand-to-hand combat, weapons defense, and defending against multiple attackers.
Philip Holder, 1998

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DEFENSIVE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term defensive is used in the context of the following news items.
1
New York Jets Defensive Position-by-Position Breakdown and …
Sheldon Richardson (91, left), Muhammad Wilkerson (96, middle) and Calvin Pace (97, right) have been the heart and soul of the Jets defense ... «Bleacher Report, Jul 15»
2
Patriots Defensive Position-by-Position Breakdown and Depth Chart …
DE Chandler Jones (95, left), DE Rob Ninkovich (50, middle) and DT Sealver Siliga (96, right) will be important pieces to the Patriots front ... «Bleacher Report, Jul 15»
3
Green Bay Packers Defensive Position-by-Position Breakdown …
The Green Bay Packers currently have 41 defensive players on their offseason roster, but that number will decrease dramatically by final cuts. «Bleacher Report, Jul 15»
4
Cleveland Browns: Defensive Position-by-Position Breakdown …
It makes sense—though the Browns had one of the NFL's top secondaries in 2014, their defensive front seven struggled both to stop the run ... «Bleacher Report, Jul 15»
5
Miami Dolphins Defensive Position-by-Position Breakdown and …
Defensive end Cameron Wake (91, left) and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (93, right) are both locked in as starters at their respective ... «Bleacher Report, Jul 15»
6
Pittsburgh Steelers: Defensive Positional Breakdown, Depth Chart …
This year, the goal is to turn that trend around under new defensive coordinator Keith Butler. Let's take a look at the Steelers' defensive players ... «Bleacher Report, Jul 15»
7
Oakland Raiders: Defensive Position-by-Position Breakdown, Depth …
We'll go through the depth chart from position to position on the defensive side of the ball and project who should hold their starting positions, ... «Bleacher Report, Jul 15»
8
Colts Defensive Breakdown, Depth Chart Analysis
The roster is easily the most talented that it has ever been since Andrew Luck was drafted in 2012, and the team that reached the AFC ... «Bleacher Report, Jul 15»
9
Chicago Bears: Defensive Position-by-Position Breakdown and …
New general manager Ryan Pace hired a defensive-oriented head coach in John Fox, and the veteran coach brought one of the league's most ... «Bleacher Report, Jul 15»
10
Alabama has more than one top 2016 defensive line draft prospect
Alabama defensive lineman Jarran Reed (90) celebrates a safety by Alabama linebacker Trey DePriest (33) during the first quarter of the ... «AL.com, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Defensive [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/defensive>. May 2024 ».
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