defensively
adverb
Simple meaning
In a way that tries to protect oneself from attack or criticism.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dihfehnsihvleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɪˈfɛnsɪvli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In an apologetic and defensive manner
“`I felt it better you should know,' said Sir Cedric defensively.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: In an apologetic and defensive manner
Used this way, defensively is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“`I felt it better you should know,' said Sir Cedric defensively.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use defensively
- “`I felt it better you should know,' said Sir Cedric defensively.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Intended or appropriate for defending against or deterring aggression or attack.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.