defensive

Pluraldefensives

1. 1
   adjective

   Made or designed to protect, rather than to attack.

   Engineers reinforced the harbor with a series of defensive structures.

   The fortress relied on a deep moat as its main defensive feature.

   Similarprotective

   Oppositeoffensive

   Note

   The root of the family, built from defense plus -ive and borrowed through Middle French défensif. A defensive perimeter protects by being there when the attack comes. That sets it apart from the deterrent meaning, where the point is that the attack never comes at all. The same weapon can be described either way, depending on whether you mean it to stop a blow or to discourage one.

2. 2
   adjective

   Showing excessive sensitivity to criticism or perceived intrusion; quick to guard oneself against blame.

   Every time feedback came up, he turned defensive and changed the subject.

   Her defensive tone made it hard to give her honest advice.

   Similartouchy, prickly, sensitive, oversensitive, thin-skinned

   Oppositeopen, receptive

3. 3
   adjective

   Designed to discourage or deter an attack before it happens.

   The treaty limited each side's stockpile of defensive weapons.

   Guard dogs served as a defensive deterrent around the warehouse.

   Similarprotective, preventive

   Oppositeoffensive

4. 4
   adjective

   Relating to defense rather than to attacking, as in a team's protective side of play.

   The team switched to a defensive formation to protect their lead.

   Her defensive positioning blocked several scoring chances.

   Oppositeattacking, offensive

   Note

   Sports writing uses it as the plain counterpart of attacking. In Phil McNulty's BBC report "Bulgaria 0-3 England" (2011), Bulgaria show "defensive frailties" by failing to clear a corner. The contrast with attack travels beyond the pitch, too. A defensive knife wound is the one received while fending off an attacker, so it records which side of the struggle the victim was on.

5. 5
   adjective

   In a position or posture ready to protect against attack.

   Cornered by the pack, the elk turned defensive and lowered its head.

   The troops remained defensive along the ridge until reinforcements arrived.

   Oppositeaggressive

   Note

   Here the word describes a stance rather than a purpose: being braced and guarded. Milton's Samson Agonistes (1671) imagines a "thorn intestine" lodged "far within defensive arms", a danger already inside the guard. When the subject is a person, this literal posture is easily heard as the thin-skinned meaning. Context decides whether someone is guarding their body or their pride.

6. 6
   adjective

   Carried out so as to minimize risk.

   His defensive approach to investing kept his savings safe during the crash.

   The pilot made a defensive maneuver to keep clear of the storm cell.

   Similarcautious, conservative, careful, prudent, safe

   Oppositeaggressive, risky, reckless, bold

7. 7
   noun

   A position or attitude of resisting attack, or the means used to defend oneself.

   Pressed by hostile questions, the minister was thrown onto the defensive.

   Once they lost the lead, the whole team retreated into a stubborn defensive.

   Similardefense

   Oppositeoffensive

   Note

   As a noun it is fully countable and takes a plural, defensives. Julia Werdigier uses that plural in the New York Times (2007), writing of "defensives" that protect local banks more than consumers. It most often turns up after a preposition, as in being thrown onto or put on the defensive. In that phrase it names a position you are forced into rather than one you choose.

8. 8
   adjective

   In cricket, describing a bowling or fielding tactic meant to stop the other side scoring runs, or a batting tactic meant to avoid being out.

   Facing the spinner, she adopted a defensive technique to protect her wicket.

   The bowler held a tight defensive line outside off stump.

   Similarcautious

   Oppositeattacking, aggressive

   Note

   Cricket points the word in two directions depending on who holds the ball. For the bowling and fielding side, defensive play aims to choke off runs. For the batter, it aims to keep the wicket intact, putting survival ahead of aggressive stroke play. So a defensive field and a defensive innings share a word, but each guards something different.

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