Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter D

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter D - Page 18

Defeat (v. t.) 戰勝，擊敗；使失敗，挫敗 To render null and void, as a title; to frustrate, as hope; to deprive, as of an estate.

He finds himself naturally to dread a superior Being that can defeat all his designs, and disappoint all his hopes. -- Tillotson.

The escheators . . . defeated the right heir of his succession. -- Hallam.

In one instance he defeated his own purpose. -- A. W. Ward.

Defeat (v. t.) To overcome or vanquish, as an army; to check, disperse, or ruin by victory; to overthrow.

Defeat (v. t.) To resist with success; as, to defeat an assault.

Sharp reasons to defeat the law. -- Shak.

Syn: To baffle; disappoint; frustrate.

Defeat (n.) [C] [U] 失敗，戰敗，挫折；戰勝，擊敗 An undoing or annulling; destruction. [Obs.]

Upon whose property and most dear life A damned defeat was made. -- Shak.

Defeat (n.) Frustration by rendering null and void, or by prevention of success; as, the defeat of a plan or design.

Defeat (n.) An overthrow, as of an army in battle; loss of a battle; repulse suffered; discomfiture; -- opposed to victory.

Defeat (n.) An unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest; "it was a narrow defeat"; "the army's only defeat"; "they suffered a convincing licking" [syn: defeat, licking] [ant: triumph, victory].

Defeat (n.) The feeling that accompanies an experience of being thwarted in attaining your goals [syn: frustration, defeat].

Defeat (v.) Win a victory over; "You must overcome all difficulties"; "defeat your enemies"; "He overcame his shyness"; "He overcame his infirmity"; "Her anger got the better of her and she blew up" [syn: get the better of, overcome, defeat].

Defeat (v.) Thwart the passage of; "kill a motion"; "he shot down the student's proposal" [syn: kill, shoot down, defeat, vote down, vote out].

Defeat (v.) [ T ] (B1) 擊敗，打敗，戰勝 To win against someone in a fight, war, or competition.

// Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo.

// They defeated the Italian team and reached the final.

See also: Pyrrhic victory

Pyrrhic victory (n.) [ C usually singular ] 以極大代價換取的勝利，得不償失的勝利 A victory that is not worth winning because the winner has lost so much in winning it.

// She won the court case, but it was a Pyrrhic victory because she had to pay so much in legal fees.

Victory lap (US) (UK lap of honour) （贏得比賽勝利後的）繞場慶祝 A run around a track or sports field that is made by a winner of a race or a team that has won a game.

Idiom:

Be a victory for common sense, () 是合情合理的結果 To be a very reasonable result in a particular situation.

// There is no doubt that the court's decision is a victory for common sense.

Admit defeat, () 承認失敗 To accept that you cannot do something.

// I thought I could fix the radio myself, but I had to admit defeat.

Defeature (n.) 【古】損壞外貌；【廢】失敗 Overthrow; defeat. [Obs.] "Nothing but loss in their defeature." -- Beau. & Fl.

Defeature (n.) Disfigurement; deformity. [Obs.] "Strange defeatures in my face." -- Shak.

Defeatured (p. p.) Changed in features; deformed.

Defecated (imp. & p. p.) of Defecate.

Defecating (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Defecate.

Defecate (v. t.) 澄清濾淨 To clear from impurities, as lees, dregs, etc.; to clarify; to purify; to refine.

To defecate the dark and muddy oil of amber. -- Boyle.

Defecate (v. t.) To free from extraneous or polluting matter; to clear; to purify, as from that which materializes.

We defecate the notion from materiality. -- Glanvill.

Defecated from all the impurities of sense. -- Bp. Warburton.

Defecate (a.) Freed from anything that can pollute, as dregs, lees, etc.; refined; purified.

Till the soul be defecate from the dregs of sense. -- Bates.

Defecate (v. i.) 澄清；排便 To become clear, pure, or free. -- Goldsmith.

Defecate (v. i.) To void excrement.

Defecate (v.) Have a bowel movement; "The dog had made in the flower beds" [syn: stool, defecate, shit, take a shit, take a crap, ca-ca, crap, make].

Defecation (n.) 澄清；排便 The act of separating from impurities, as lees or dregs; purification.

Defecation (n.) (Physiol.) The act or process of voiding excrement.

Defecation (n.) The elimination of fecal waste through the anus [syn: defecation, laxation, shitting].

Defecator (n.) 澄清器；濾清器 That which cleanses or purifies; esp., an apparatus for removing the feculencies of juices and sirups. -- Knight.

Defecator (n.) A person who defecates [syn: defecator, voider, shitter].

Defect (v. t.) To injure; to damage. "None can my life defect." [R.] -- Troubles of Q. Elizabeth (1639).

Defect (n.) 缺點，缺陷，不足之處 [C] Want or absence of something necessary for completeness or perfection; deficiency; -- opposed to superfluity.

Errors have been corrected, and defects supplied. -- Davies.

Defect (n.) Failing; fault; imperfection, whether physical or moral; blemish; as, a defect in the ear or eye; a defect in timber or iron; a defect of memory or judgment.

Trust not yourself; but, your defects to know, Make use of every friend -- and every foe. -- Pope.

Among boys little tenderness is shown to personal defects. -- Macaulay.

Syn: Deficiency; imperfection; blemish. See Fault.

Defect (v. i.) 逃跑，脫離，背叛 [（+to/ from）] To fail; to become deficient. [Obs.] "Defected honor." -- Warner.

Defect (v. i.) To abandon one country or faction, and join another.

Defect (n.) An imperfection in a bodily system; "visual defects"; "this device permits detection of defects in the lungs".

Defect (n.) A failing or deficiency; "that interpretation is an unfortunate defect of our lack of information" [syn: defect, shortcoming].

Defect (n.) An imperfection in an object or machine; "a flaw caused the crystal to shatter"; "if there are any defects you should send it back to the manufacturer" [syn: defect, fault, flaw].

Defect (n.) A mark or flaw that spoils the appearance of something (especially on a person's body); "a facial blemish" [syn: blemish, defect, mar].

Defect (v.) Desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army; "If soldiers deserted Hitler's army, they were shot" [syn: defect, desert].

bug

bugs

defect

snag

An unwanted and unintended property of a program or piece of hardware, especially one that causes it to malfunction. Antonym of feature. E.g. "There's a bug in the editor: it writes things out backward." The identification and removal of bugs in a program is called "{debugging."

Admiral Grace Hopper (an early computing pioneer better known for inventing COBOL) liked to tell a story in which a technician solved a glitch in the Harvard Mark II machine by pulling an actual insect out from between the contacts of one of its relays, and she subsequently promulgated bug in its hackish sense as a joke about the incident (though, as she was careful to admit, she was not there when it happened). For many years the logbook associated with the incident and the actual bug in question (a moth) sat in a display case at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC). The entire story, with a picture of the logbook and the moth taped into it, is recorded in the "Annals of the History of Computing", Vol. 3, No. 3 (July 1981), pp. 285--286.

The text of the log entry (from September 9, 1947), reads "1545 Relay #70 Panel F (moth) in relay. First actual case of bug being found". This wording establishes that the term was already in use at the time in its current specific sense - and Hopper herself reports that the term "bug" was regularly applied to problems in radar electronics during WWII.

Indeed, the use of "bug" to mean an industrial defect was already established in Thomas Edison's time, and a more specific and rather modern use can be found in an electrical handbook from 1896 ("Hawkin's New Catechism of Electricity", Theo. Audel & Co.) which says: "The term "bug" is used to a limited extent to designate any fault or trouble in the connections or working of electric apparatus." It further notes that the term is "said to have originated in quadruplex telegraphy and have been transferred to all electric apparatus."

The latter observation may explain a common folk etymology of the term; that it came from telephone company usage, in which "bugs in a telephone cable" were blamed for noisy lines. Though this derivation seems to be mistaken, it may well be a distorted memory of a joke first current among *telegraph* operators more than a century ago!

Actually, use of "bug" in the general sense of a disruptive event goes back to Shakespeare! In the first edition of Samuel Johnson's dictionary one meaning of "bug" is "A frightful object; a walking spectre"; this is traced to "bugbear", a Welsh term for a variety of mythological monster which (to complete the circle) has recently been reintroduced into the popular lexicon through fantasy role-playing games.

In any case, in jargon the word almost never refers to insects. Here is a plausible conversation that never actually happened:

"There is a bug in this ant farm!"

"What do you mean? I don't see any ants in it."

"That's the bug."

[There has been a widespread myth that the original bug was moved to the Smithsonian, and an earlier version of this entry so asserted. A correspondent who thought to check discovered that the bug was not there. While investigating this in late 1990, your editor discovered that the NSWC still had the bug, but had unsuccessfully tried to get the Smithsonian to accept it - and that the present curator of their History of American Technology Museum didn't know this and agreed that it would make a worthwhile exhibit. It was moved to the Smithsonian in mid-1991, but due to space and money constraints has not yet been exhibited. Thus, the process of investigating the original-computer-bug bug fixed it in an entirely unexpected way, by making the myth true! - ESR] [{Jargon File] (1999-06-29)

Defect, () The want of something required by law.

Defect, () It is a general rule that pleadings shall have these two requisites; 1. A matter sufficient in law. 2. That it be deduced and expressed according to the forms of law. The want of either of these is a defect.

Defect, () Defects in matters of substance cannot be cured, because it does not appear that the plaintiff is entitled to recover; but when the defects are in matter of form, they are cured by a verdict in favor of the party who committed them. 3 Bouv. Inst. n. 3292; 2 Wash. 1; 1 Hen. & Munf. 153; 16 Pick. 128, 541; 1 Day, 315; 4 Conn, 190; 5 Conn. 416; 6 Conn. 176; 12 Conn. 455; 1 P. C. C. R. 76; 2 Green, 133; 4 Blackf. 107; 2 M'Lean, 35; Bac. Ab. Verdict, X.

Defectibility (n.) 缺點, 缺陷；不足之處（Defect的变形） Deficiency; imperfection. [R.] -- Ld. Digby. Jer. Taylor.

Defectibility (n.) I nherent defectiveness : tendency to fall short of perfection.

Defectible (a.) 不完善的，不完美的，有缺陷的 Liable to defect; imperfect. [R.] "A defectible understanding." -- Jer. Taylor.

Defection (n.) 背叛；脫黨；不履行義務 Act of abandoning a person or cause to which one is bound by allegiance or duty, or to which one has attached himself; desertion; failure in duty; a falling away; apostasy; backsliding. "Defection and falling away from God." -- Sir W. Raleigh.

The general defection of the whole realm. -- Sir J. Davies.

Defection (n.) Withdrawing support or help despite allegiance or responsibility; "his abandonment of his wife and children left them penniless" [syn: desertion, abandonment, defection].

Defection (n.) The state of having rejected your religious beliefs or your political party or a cause (often in favor of opposing beliefs or causes) [syn: apostasy, renunciation, defection].

Defectionist (n.) 叛逃者 One who advocates or encourages defection.

Defectious (a.) 有瑕疵 Having defects; imperfect. [Obs.] "Some one defectious piece." -- Sir P. Sidney.

Defective (n.) 身心殘障者；【語】不完全變化字 Anything that is defective or lacking in some respect.

Defective (n.) (Med.) One who is lacking physically or mentally.

Note: Under the term defectives are included deaf-mutes, the blind, the feeble-minded, the insane, and sometimes, esp. in criminology, criminals and paupers.

Defective (a.) 有缺陷的，不完美的 [（+in）]；【語】不完全變化的，變形不全的；【心】（心智）不健全的 Wanting in something; incomplete; lacking a part; deficient; imperfect; faulty; -- applied either to natural or moral qualities; as, a defective limb; defective timber; a defective copy or account; a defective character; defective rules.

Defective (a.) (Gram.) Lacking some of the usual forms of declension or conjugation; as, a defective noun or verb. -- De*fect"ive*ly, adv. -- De*fect"ive*ness, n.

Defective (a.) Having a defect; "I returned the appliance because it was defective" [syn: defective, faulty].

Defective (a.) Markedly subnormal in structure or function or intelligence or behavior; "defective speech."

Defective (a.) Not working properly; "a bad telephone connection"; "a defective appliance" [syn: bad, defective].

Defector (n.) 叛離者；逃兵；背叛者 [C] A person who abandons their duty (as on a military post) [syn: deserter, defector].

Defectuosity (n.) Great imperfection. [Obs.] -- W. Montagu.

Defectuous (a.) Full of defects; imperfect. [Obs.] -- Barrow.

Defedation (n.) The act of making foul; pollution. [Obs.]

Defence (n. & v. t.) See Defense.

Defence (n.) (UK) (US defense) (Protection) (A2) [ C or U ] 保護，防護；防禦；辯護 Protection or support against attack, criticism, or infection.

// The rebels' only form of defence against the soldiers' guns was sticks and stones.

// The war has ended but government spending on defence (= the country's armed forces) is still increasing.

// When Helen criticized me, Chris came/ rushed to my defence (= quickly supported me).

// The book is a closely argued defence of (= something that supports) the economic theory of Keynes.

// The towers were once an important part of the city's defences.

// A good diet helps build the body's natural defences.

See also: Self-defence

Self-defence (n.) 自衛防身術 The skill of fighting without weapons to protect yourself.

// She goes to self-defence classes for women.

Defence (n.) (Explanation) [ S or U ] 辯護，辯解；辯詞 An argument or explanation that you use to prove that you are not guilty of something.

// The judge remarked that ignorance was not a valid defence.

// All I can say, in defence of my actions, is that I had little choice.

Defence (n.) (Explanation) （法庭）辯護；辯詞，答辯 The things said in court to prove that a person did not commit a crime.

// She said that she didn't want a lawyer and was going to conduct her own defence.

The defence (C2) 辯方；辯方律師 The person or people in a law case who have been accused of doing something illegal, and their lawyer(s).

// A witness for the defence.

// A defence lawyer.

Defence (n.) (Sport) (B1) [ S or U ] （某些體育比賽中參賽隊的）防線，後衛線 In some sports, the part of a team that tries to prevent the other team from scoring goals or points.

// A strong defence.

// I play in defence.

Defence (n.) (Chess) (Specialized) (Games) [ C or U ] 國際象棋的防禦（黑棋的某種特定走法） In the game of chess, a particular set of moves used by the person playing with the black pieces.

// What defence did you use in that last game?

Defended (imp. & p. p.) of Defend.

Defending (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Defend.

Defend (v. t.) 防守，保衛；為…辯護，為…答辯 To ward or fend off; to drive back or away; to repel.

Defend (v. t.) To prohibit; to forbid.

Defend (v. t.) To repel danger or harm from; to protect; to secure against; attack; to maintain against force or argument; to uphold; to guard; as, to defend a town; to defend a cause; to defend character; to defend the absent; -- sometimes followed by from or against; as, to defend one's self from, or against, one's enemies.

Defend (v. t.) To deny the right of the plaintiff in regard to (the suit, or the wrong charged); to oppose or resist, as a claim at law; to contest, as a suit.

Defend (v.) Argue or speak in defense of; "She supported the motion to strike" [syn: {defend}, {support}, {fend for}].

Defend (v.) Be on the defensive; act against an attack [ant: {assail}, {attack}].

Defend (v.) Protect against a challenge or attack; "Hold that position behind the trees!"; "Hold the bridge against the enemy's attacks" [syn: {defend}, {guard}, {hold}].

Defend (v.) Fight against or resist strongly; "The senator said he would oppose the bill"; "Don't fight it!" [syn: {fight}, {oppose}, {fight back}, {fight down}, {defend}].

Defend (v.) Protect or fight for as a champion [syn: {champion}, {defend}].

Defend (v.) Be the defense counsel for someone in a trial; "Ms. Smith will represent the defendant" [syn: {defend}, {represent}] [ant: {prosecute}].

Defend (v.) State or assert; "He maintained his innocence" [syn: {maintain}, {defend}].

Defend (v.) (Project) (B1) [ T ] 保護，防衛；為…辯護 To protect someone or something against attack or criticism; to speak in favour of someone or something.

// How can we defend our homeland if we don't have an army?

// White blood cells help defend the body against infection.

// They are fighting to defend their beliefs/ interests/ rights.

// He vigorously defended his point of view.

// The president was asked how he could defend (= explain his support for) a policy that increased unemployment.

// I'm going to karate lessons to learn how to defend myself.

// (UK) The Bank of England intervened this morning to defend the pound (= stop it from losing value).

Compare: Attack

Attack (v.) (Hurt) (B1) [ I or T ] 襲擊；毆打；攻擊；進攻 To try to hurt or defeat using violence.

// He was attacked and seriously injured by a gang of youths.

// Army forces have been attacking the town since dawn.

// Most wild animals won't attack unless they are provoked.

Attack (v.) (Criticize) (C1) [ T ] 抨擊；責難 To criticize someone strongly.

// She wrote an article attacking the judges and their conduct of the trial.

// The report attacks the idea of exams for seven and eight-year-olds.

Attack (v.) (Damage) (C2) [ T ] （疾病、化學品等）侵襲，侵害，侵蝕 If something, such as a disease or a chemical, attacks something, it damages it.

// AIDS attacks the body's immune system.

// My rose bushes are being attacked by aphids.

Attack (v.) (Sport) [ I or T ] （體育比賽中）進攻 If players in a team attack, they move forward to try to score points, goals, etc.

Attack (v.) (Deal with) [ T ] 迅速處理；高效解決；全力應付 To deal with something quickly and in an effective way.

// We have to attack these problems now and find some solutions.

// The children rushed in and eagerly attacked the food (= quickly started to eat it).

Attack (n.) (Violent act) (B1) [ C or U ] 襲擊；攻擊；進攻 A violent act intended to hurt or damage someone or something.

// A racist attack.

// Enemy forces have made an attack on the city.

// These bomb blasts suggest that the terrorists are (going) on the attack (= trying to defeat or hurt other people) again.

// The town was once again under attack (= being attacked).

Attack (n.) (Criticism) (C2) [ C or U ] 抨擊；責難 A strong criticism of someone or something.

// A scathing attack on the president.

// The government has come under attack from all sides for cutting education spending.

Attack (n.) (Illness) [ C ] （疾病的）突然發作 A sudden and short period of illness.

// An attack of asthma/ flu/ malaria.

// (Figurative) An attack of the giggles.

Attack (n.) (Sport) (B1) [ C or U ] （球隊中的）進攻（位置） The part of a team in some sports that tries to score points.

// The team has a strong attack, but its defence is weak.

// The team is strong in attack but useless in defence.

Attack (n.) (Sport) [ U ] （體育運動中的）進攻 Determination in the way you play a sport, trying hard to score points.

// The team needs to put some more attack into its game.

Defend (v.) (In sport) [ T ] （運動比賽中）衛冕；蟬聯冠軍 To compete in a sports competition that you won before and try to win it again.

// He will defend his 1,500 metre title this weekend.

// The defending champion will play her first match of the tournament tomorrow.

Defend (v.) (In sport) [ I ] （在體育比賽中）防守，防衛 To try to prevent the opposing player or players from scoring points, goals, etc. in a sport.

// In the last ten minutes of the game, we needed to defend.

Defendable (a.) 可防禦的 Capable of being defended; defensible. [R.]

Defendable (a.) Capable of being defended [syn: defendable, defensible].

Compare: Libellee

Libellee (n.) (Law) 被誹謗者 The party against whom a libel has been filed; -- corresponding to defendant in a common law action.

Libellee (n.) (Law) The defendant in an action of libel.

Defendant (n.) 【律】被告 [C] One who defends; a defender.

The rampiers and ditches which the defendants had cast up. -- Spotswood.

Defendant (n.) (Law) A person required to make answer in an action or suit; -- opposed to plaintiff. -- Abbott.

Note: The term is applied to any party of whom a demand is made in court, whether the party denies and defends the claim, or admits it, and suffers a default; also to a party charged with a criminal offense.

Defendant (a.) 辯護的；為自己辯護的 Serving, or suitable, for defense; defensive. [Obs.]

With men of courage and with means defendant. -- Shak.

Defendant (a.) Making defense.

Defendee (n.) One who is defended.

Defender (n.) One who defends; one who maintains, supports, protects, or vindicates; a champion; an advocate; a vindicator.

Defendress (n.) A female defender.

Defensative (n.) That which serves to protect or defend.

Defence (n. & v. t.) See Defense.

Defense (n.) Alt. of Defence

Defence (n.) The act of defending, or the state of being defended; protection, as from violence or danger.

In cases of defense 't is best to weigh The enemy more mighty than he seems. -- Shak.

Defence (n.) That which defends or protects; anything employed to oppose attack, ward off violence or danger, or maintain security; a guard; a protection.

War would arise in defense of the right. -- Tennyson.

God, the widow's champion and defense. -- Shak

Defence (n.) Protecting plea; vindication; justification.

Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense. -- Acts xxii. 1.

Defence (n.) (Law) The defendant's answer or plea; an opposing or denial of the truth or validity of the plaintiff's or prosecutor's case; the method of proceeding adopted by the defendant to protect himself against the plaintiff's action.

Defence (n.) Act or skill in making defense; defensive plan or policy; practice in self defense, as in fencing, boxing, etc.

A man of great defense. -- Spenser.

By how much defense is better than no skill. -- Shak.

Defence (n.) Prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance. [Obs.]

Severe defenses . . . against wearing any linen under a certain breadth. -- Sir W. Temple.

Defenestrate (v. t.) To throw (something or someone) out of a window.

Defenestrate (v.) Throw through or out of the window; "The rebels stormed the palace and defenestrated the President."

Defenestrate (v. t.) [Formal] 把…拋出窗外 To throw or push out of a window.

// They threatened to defenestrate him.

Defenestrate (v. t.) [Humorous] 迫使（領導人）辭職 To force someone, especially a leader, out of his or her job.

// It would not be a good time to defenestrate the Prime Minister.

Defense (v. t.) To furnish with defenses; to fortify. [Obs.] [Written also defence.]

Better manned and more strongly defensed. -- Hales.

Defence (n.) (Psychiatry) An unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires [syn: defense mechanism, defense reaction, defence mechanism, defence reaction, defense, defence].

Defence (n.) (Sports) The team that is trying to prevent the other team from scoring; "his teams are always good on defense" [syn: defense, defence, defending team] [ant: offence, offense].

Defence (n.) The defendant and his legal advisors collectively; "the defense called for a mistrial" [syn: defense, defence, defense team, defense lawyers] [ant: prosecution].

Defence (n.) An organization of defenders that provides resistance against attack; "he joined the defense against invasion" [syn: defense, defence, defense force, defence force].

Defence (n.) The speech act of answering an attack on your assertions; "his refutation of the charges was short and persuasive"; "in defense he said the other man started it" [syn: refutation, defense, defence].

Defence (n.) The justification for some act or belief; "he offered a persuasive defense of the theory" [syn: defense, defence, vindication].

Defence (n.) A structure used to defend against attack; "the artillery battered down the defenses" [syn: defensive structure, defense, defence].

Defence (n.) A defendant's answer or plea denying the truth of the charge against him; "he gave evidence for the defense" [syn: defense, defence, denial, demurrer] [ant: criminal prosecution, prosecution].

Defence (n.) (Military) Military action or resources protecting a country against potential enemies; "they died in the defense of Stalingrad"; "they were developed for the defense program" [syn: defense, defence, defensive measure].

Defence (n.) Protection from harm; "sanitation is the best defense against disease" [syn: defense, defence].

Defence (n.) The act of defending someone or something against attack or injury; "a good boxer needs a good defense"; "defense against hurricanes is an urgent problem" [syn: defense, defence].

Defence, () torts. A forcible resistance of an attack by force.

Defence, () A man is justified, in defending his person, that of his wife, children, and servants, and for this purpose he may use as much force as may be necessary, even to killing the assailant, remembering that the means used must always be proportioned to the occasion, and an excess becomes, itself, an injury.

Defence, () A man may also repel force by force in defence of his personal property, and even justify homicide against one Who manifestly intends or endeavors by violence or surprise to commit a known felony, as robbery.

Defence, () With respect to the defence or protection of the possession of real property, although it is justifiable even to kill a person in the act of attempting to commit a forcible felony, as burglary or arson, yet this justification can only take place when the party in possession is wholly without fault. 1 Hale, 440, 444; 1 East, P. C. 259, 277. When a forcible attack is made upon the dwelling-house of another, without any felonious intent, but barely to commit a trespass, it is in general lawful to oppose force by force, when the former was clearly illegal. 7 Bing. 305; S. C. 20 Eng. C. L. Rep. 139. Vide, generally, Ham. N. P. 136, 151 1 Chit. Pr. 589, 616; Grot. lib. 2, c. 1 Rutherf. Inst. B. 1, c. 16.

Defence, () pleading, practice. It is defined to be the denial of the truth or validity of the complaint, and does not signify a justification. It is a general assertion that the plaintiff has no ground of action, which assertion is afterwards extended and maintained in the plea. 3 Bl. Com. 296; Co. Litt. 127. It is similar to the contestatio litis of the civilians.

Defence, () Defence is of two descriptions; first half defence, which is as follows, "venit et defendit vim et injuriam, et dicit," &c.; or secondly, full defence, "venit et defendit vim et injuriam, quando," &c. meaning "quando et ubi curia consideravit," (or when and where it shall behoove him,) "et damna et quicquid quod ipse defendere debet et dicit," &c. Co. Litt. 127, b; Bac. Abr. Pleas, D Willis, 41.

Defence, () In strictness, the words quando, &c. ought not to be added when only half defence is to be made; and after the words "venit et defendit vim et injuriam," the subject matter of the plea should immediately be stated. Gilb. C. P. 188; 8 T. R. 6 3 2; 3 B. & P. 9, n. a.

Defence, () It has, however, now become the practice in all cases, whether half or full defence be intended, to, state it a's follows: "And the said C D, by M N, his attorney, comes and defends the wrong, (or in trespass, force) and injury, when, &c. and says," which will be considered only as half defence in cases where such defence should be made, and as full defence where the latter is necessary. 8 T. R. 633; Willis, 41 3 B. & P. 9; 2 Saund. 209, c.

Defence, () If full defence were made expressly by the words "when and where it shall behoove him," and "the damages and whatever else he ought to defend," the defendant would be precluded from pleading to the jurisdiction or in abatement, for by defending when and where it shall behoove him, the defendant acknowledges the jurisdiction of the court and by defending the damages he waives all. exception to the person of the plaintiff. 2 Saund. 209, c.; 3 Bl. Com. 297 Co. Litt. 127, b Bac. Abr. Pleas, D.

Defence, () Want of defence being only matter of form, the omission is aided by general demurrer. 3 Salk. 271. See further, 7 Vin. Abr. 497; 1 Chit. Pl. 410; Com. Dig. Abatement, I 16; Gould. on Pl. c. 2, s. 6-15; Steph. Pl. 430.

Defence, () In another sense, defence signifies a justification; as, the defendant has made a successful defence to the charge laid in the indictment.

Defence, () The Act of Congress of April 30, 1790, 1 Story, L. U. S. 89, acting upon the principles adopted in perhaps all the states, enacts, Sec. 28, that every person accused and indicted of the crime of treason, or other capital offence, shall "be allowed and admitted to make his full defence by counsel learned in the law; and the court before whom such person shall be tried, or some judge thereof, shall, and they are hereby authorized and requited, immediately upon his request, to assign to such person such counsel, not exceeding two, as such person shall desire, to whom such counsel shall have free access, at all seasonable hours; and every such person or persons, accused or indicted of the crimes aforesaid, shall be allowed and admitted in his said defence, to make any proof that he or they can produce, by lawful witness or witnesses, and shall have the like process of the court where he or they shall be tried, to compel his or their witnesses to appear at his or their trial, as is usually granted to compel witnesses to appear on the prosecution against them."

Defence, () Defences in equity may be classed in two divisions, namely into dilatory defences, (q.v.) and into those which are peremptory. Matters of peremptory or permanent defences may be also divided into two sorts, first, those where the plaintiff never had any right to institute the suit; for example: 1. That the plaintiff had not a superior right to the defendant. 2. That the defendant has no interest. 3. That there is no privity between the plaintiff and defendant, or any right to sustain the suit. Secondly, those that insist that the original right, if any, is extinguished or determined; as, 1. When the right is determined by the act of the parties; or, 2. When it is determined by operation of law. 4 Bouv. Inst. n. 4199, et seq.; 1 Montag. Eq. Pl. 89. See Dilatory Defence; Merits.

Defenseless (a.) 【主美】無防禦的；無保護的；不能自衛的 Destitute of defense; unprepared to resist attack; unable to oppose; unprotected.

Defenser (n.) Defender. [Obs.] -- Foxe.

Defensibility (n.) Capability of being defended.

Defensibility (n.) Capability of being defended; "they built their castles with an eye to their defensibility"; "client complaints create a felt need for the defensibility of individual actions."

Defensible (a.) Capable of being defended; as, a defensible city, or a defensible cause.

Defensible (a.) Capable of offering defense. [Obs.] -- Shak.

Defensible (a.) Capable of being defended [syn: defendable, defensible].

Defensibleness (n.) Capability of being defended; defensibility. -- Priestley.

Defensive (n.) That which defends; a safeguard.

Wars preventive, upon just fears, are true defensives. -- Bacon.

To be on the defensive, To stand on the defensive, to be or stand in a state or posture of defense or resistance, in opposition to aggression or attack.

Defensive (a.) Serving to defend or protect; proper for defense; opposed to offensive; as, defensive armor.

A moat defensive to a house. -- Shak.

Defensive (a.) Carried on by resisting attack or aggression; -- opposed to offensive; as, defensive war.

Defensive (a.) In a state or posture of defense. -- Milton.

Defensive (a.) Intended or appropriate for defending against or deterring aggression or attack; "defensive weapons"; "a defensive stance" [ant: offensive].

Defensive (a.) Attempting to justify or defend in speech or writing [syn: defensive, justificative, justificatory].

Defensive (n.) An attitude of defensiveness (especially in the phrase `on the defensive') [syn: defensive, defensive attitude].

Defensively (adv.) On the defensive.

Defensively (adv.) In an apologetic and defensive manner; "`I felt it better you should know,' said Sir Cedric defensively".

Defensively (adv.) In a defensive manner; "the general conviction that our side is in the right and acting defensively over what Russians call the German question and Americans the Berlin crisis" [ant: offensively].

Defensor (n.) A defender. -- Fabyan.

Defensor (n.) (Law) A defender or an advocate in court; a guardian or protector.

Defensor (n.) (Eccl.) The patron of a church; an officer having charge of the temporal affairs of a church.

Defensory (a.) Tending to defend; defensive; as, defensory preparations.

Deferred (imp. & p. p.) of Defer.

Deferring (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Defer.

Defer (v. t.) To put off; to postpone to a future time; to delay the execution of; to delay; to withhold.

Defer (v. i.) To put off; to delay to act; to wait.

Defer (v. t.) To render or offer.

Defer (v. t.) To lay before; to submit in a respectful manner; to refer; -- with to.

Defer (v. i.) To yield deference to the wishes of another; to submit to the opinion of another, or to authority; -- with to.

Deference (n.) A yielding of judgment or preference from respect to the wishes or opinion of another; submission in opinion; regard; respect; complaisance.

Deference (n.) Respect and esteem due a superior or an elder; also : affected or ingratiating regard for another's wishes.

Deferent (a.) Serving to carry; bearing.

Deferent (n.) That which carries or conveys.

Deferent (n.) An imaginary circle surrounding the earth, in whose periphery either the heavenly body or the center of the heavenly body's epicycle was supposed to be carried round.

Deferential (a.) Expressing deference; accustomed to defer.

Deferentially (adv.) With deference.

Deferment (n.) The act of delaying; postponement.

Deferrer (n.) One who defers or puts off.

Defervescence (n.) Alt. of Defervescency

Defervescency (n.) 【醫】退熱 A subsiding from a state of ebullition; loss of heat; lukewarmness.

A defervescency in holy actions. -- Jer. Taylor.

Defervescency (n.) (Med.) The subsidence of a febrile process; as, the stage of defervescence in pneumonia.

Defeudalize (v. t.) To deprive of the feudal character or form.

Defiance (n.) [U] 反抗；蔑視，藐視；挑戰 The act of defying, putting in opposition, or provoking to combat; a challenge; a provocation; a summons to combat.

A war without a just defiance made. -- Dryden.

Stood for her cause, and flung defiance down. -- Tennyson.

Defiance (n.) A state of opposition; willingness to flight; disposition to resist; contempt of opposition.

He breathed defiance to my ears. -- Shak.

Defiance (n.) A casting aside; renunciation; rejection. [Obs.] "Defiance to thy kindness." -- Ford.

{To bid defiance}, {To set at defiance}, To defy; to disregard recklessly or contemptuously. -- Locke.

Defiance (n.) Intentionally contemptuous behavior or attitude [syn: {defiance}, {rebelliousness}].

Defiance (n.) A hostile challenge.

Defiance (n.) A defiant act.

Defiant (a.) 違抗的；挑戰的；蔑視的；大膽的；目空一切的 Full of defiance; bold; insolent; as, a defiant spirit or act.

In attitude stern and defiant. -- Longfellow. -- {De*fi"ant*ly}, adv. -- {De*fi"ant*ness}, n.

Defiant (a.) Boldly resisting authority or an opposing force; "brought up to be aggressive and defiant"; "a defiant attitude" [syn: {defiant}, {noncompliant}] [ant: {compliant}].

Defiant (a.) Marked by defiance; boldly resisting.

Defiantly (adv.) 挑戰地；大膽對抗地 In a rebellious manner; "he rejected her words rebelliously" [syn: rebelliously, contumaciously, defiantly].

Compare: Rebelliously

Rebelliously (adv.) 造反地；不法地；難控制地；難治療地See Rrebellious.

Compare: Rebellious

Rebellious (a.) 造反的；不法的；難控制的；難治療的 Showing a desire to resist authority, control, or convention.

‘I became very rebellious and opted out.’

Rebellious (a.) Engaged in opposition or armed resistance to an established government or leader.

‘The rebellious republics.’

Rebellious (a.) (Of a thing) Not easily controlled or kept in place.

‘He smoothed back a rebellious lock of hair.’

Compare: Contumaciously

Contumaciously (adv.) (Law) (Archaic) 頑抗地；不順從地 See Contumacious.

Compare: Contumacious

Contumacious (a.) (Law) (Archaic) (Especially of a defendant's behaviour) 不聽命令的；（尤指對法庭命令）抗拒的 Stubbornly or wilfully disobedient to authority.

‘His refusal to make child support payments was contumacious.’

Defiatory (a.) Bidding or manifesting defiance.

Defibrinate (v. t.) To deprive of fibrin, as fresh blood or lymph by stirring with twigs.

Defibrination (n.) The act or process of depriving of fibrin.

Defibrinize (v. t.) To defibrinate.

Deficience (n.) Same as Deficiency.

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