Simple meaning
What does Defensive mean?
Defensive means quickly trying to protect yourself.
Dictionary definition
Defensive means acting as if you must protect yourself from criticism or blame.
Example sentences
Defensive in a sentence
easy
In class, we learned what defensive means.
medium
The story used defensive to show how characters handled conflict.
hard
Using defensive in my writing helped explain social tension and resolution more clearly.
Synonyms
Words like Defensive
guardedRelated meaning; check context for exact use.
self-protectiveRelated meaning; check context for exact use.
touchyRelated meaning; check context for exact use.
Antonyms
Opposite words
supportiveHelpful contrast for understanding meaning.
kindHelpful contrast for understanding meaning.
Word family
Defensive word family
Base word
defensive
adjective
defensive
Base form.
Related words
Explore related words
Quick practice
Try Defensive
Practice 1
What does defensive mean?
DEFENSIVE means defensive means quickly trying to protect yourself.
Practice this skill
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Use the dictionary to understand Defensive, then move into short activities matched to the skills on this page.
Learning paths
- Define the Word Hive for word meanings.
- Synonym Search for word choice.
- Context Clue Challenge for sentence clues.
- Buzz Between for homophones and listening.
- Hive Builder for roots, prefixes, and suffixes.