Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

defeatingly en · ADV

Etymology

From defeating + -ly.

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) So as to defeat, or frustrate progress.
    • Mathematics is cognitively difficult, technical, abstract, and (for many) defeatingly impersonal: one needs, it seems, to have been inside the dressing room in order to make much sense of the play. 2006, Reuben Hersh, 18 Unconventional Essays on the Nature of Mathematics, page 97:
    • It seemed defeatingly solid, but the metal building attaching to the frame seemed rusty and fatigued. He pressed against it, and it seemed like it would give way easily. 2012, Paula Rae Wallace, The Andersons, page 298: