defensive

UK/dɪˈfɛn.sɪv/US/dɪˈfɛn.sɪv/

adjectiveB22 meanings Common in everyday speech and writing · #3,500 of 15,258leans written

Defensive means meant to protect — or quick to take criticism badly. The same word for a wall and for a wounded ego.

The military and sporting sense is neutral, so a defensive position and a defensive formation are simply about protecting. The personal sense is a criticism, since somebody who gets defensive treats a mild question as an attack, and that is the commonest use in everyday speech. There is a fixed phrase, on the defensive, meaning under pressure and only reacting. Its opposite in both senses is offensive.

Definitions of defensive

1adjectiveintendedIntended to protect against attack.B2
“They took up a defensive position on the ridge.”
2adjectivedefensiveQuick to protect yourself against criticism.B2
“He got very defensive when I asked about the money.”

Phrases it lives in

on the defensive — forced to protect yourself rather than act

Where it comes from

Middle French
défensif
English, today
defensive

From Middle French défensif. Morphologically defense + ive.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 4 of A Man Called Ove.

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