Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
set at defiance en · VERB
Meanings
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To defy, flout; violate or disobey shamelessly.
In the town of Angla […] no person may appear on horseback in the streets […]. In former days even Europeans were forbidden to ride on horseback in Angla; and missionaries who attempted to set the local prejudice at defiance have been pelted with sticks and dirt by the outraged natives.
1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 8, page 45:
Forms