defiant
de·fi·ant/dɪˈfaɪənt/adjective, noun
defiant is spelled D-E-F-I-A-N-T: 7 letters and 3 syllables (de·fi·ant). It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,073rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, defiant means “Defying” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in defiant?
| Letters | 7: D-E-F-I-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: de·fi·ant |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,073rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is defiant?
Defiant appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,073rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce defiant?
- UK /dɪˈfaɪ(j)ənt/
- US /dɪˈfaɪənt/
Defiant has 3 syllables, split de·fi·ant in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-defiant.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with defiant?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as defiant from its last stressed vowel (/aɪənt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of defiant
- more defiant comparative
- most defiant superlative
- defiants plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does defiant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Defying.
- 2
Boldly resisting opposition.
noun
- 1
One who defies opposition.
Countries condemning South Africa, Portugal and Rhodesia still find it necessary to trade with these defiants against so-called world opinion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Defiant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | keck, frech, trotzig |
| Portuguese | desafiador |
| Spanish | desafiante, desafiador, suponer un desafío , fresco, contestatario, inconformista |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does defiant come from?
Borrowed from French défiant, from the verb défier. Doublet of diffident. By surface analysis, def(i) + -ant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).