What is the meaning of defensively?

adverb

  • In an apologetic and defensive manner.
    • usage: "`I felt it better you should know,' said Sir Cedric defensively"
  • In a defensive manner.
    • usage: "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"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). defensively. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/defensively/definitions/1251168
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "defensively" http://smartdefine.org/defensively/definitions/1251168 (accessed September 21, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, defensively, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/defensively/definitions/1251168>.
MLAWordNet. "defensively" 23 October 2010. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/defensively/definitions/1251168>
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