• vt. 藐視；公然反抗；挑釁；使落空
• n. 挑戰；對抗

de-, 不，非，使相反。-fy, 同-fid, 相信，詞源同faith, confident. 即不再相信，引申義違抗。

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).

1. Her criteria defy analysis.

她的標準讓人搞不明白。

來自柯林斯例句

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

我可不敢不聽老師的話。

來自《權威詞典》

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

松柏參天傲霜雪.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》

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

如果你不服從法律, 你就可能會坐牢.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》

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

我倒要看看有沒有人能對被告的陳述進行反駁.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》