Defensively

adv

adv ·4 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb
  1. 1
    In a defensive manner.

    "This is a particularly disruptive tactic if the opponent also prefers an offensive style and has difficulty fighting defensively or counteroffensively."

Adverb
  1. 1
    in a defensive manner wordnet
  2. 2
    in an apologetic and defensive manner wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
on guard

Example

More examples

"Buddhists are not so anti-science as some Christians defensively are."

Etymology

From defensive + -ly.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.