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self-defense

self-de·fense
S s

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [self dih-fens or especially for 7, 9, dee-fens]
    • /sɛlf dɪˈfɛns or especially for 7, 9, ˈdi fɛns/
    • /self dɪˈfens/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [self dih-fens or especially for 7, 9, dee-fens]
    • /sɛlf dɪˈfɛns or especially for 7, 9, ˈdi fɛns/

Definitions of self-defense word

  • noun self-defense the act of defending one's person when physically attacked, as by countering blows or overcoming an assailant: the art of self-defense. 1
  • noun self-defense a claim or plea that the use of force or injuring or killing another was necessary in defending one's own person from physical attack: He shot the man who was trying to stab him and pleaded self-defense at the murder trial. 1
  • noun self-defense an act or instance of defending or protecting one's own interests, property, ideas, etc., as by argument or strategy. 1
  • noun self-defense justifying yourself 1
  • noun self-defense skill: fending off attack 1
  • noun self-defense law: protecting self and family 1
See all 11 definitions of self-defense

Information block about the term

Origin of self-defense

First appearance:

before 1645
One of the 44% oldest English words
First recorded in 1645-55

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Self-defense

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Self-defense

self-defense popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 62% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

Synonyms for self-defense

noun self-defense

  • invulnerability — incapable of being wounded, hurt, or damaged.
  • guarding — to keep safe from harm or danger; protect; watch over: to guard the ruler.
  • wardship — guardianship; custody.
All 3 Synonyms of self-defense

Related words

  • aikido

    a Japanese system of self-defence employing similar principles to judo, but including blows from the hands and feet

  • karate

    a method developed in Japan of defending oneself without the use of weapons by striking sensitive areas on an attacker's body with the hands, elbows, knees, or feet. Compare judo, jujitsu.

  • kung fu

    an ancient Chinese method of self-defense by striking blows at vulnerable areas of an attacker's body using fluid movements of the hands and legs.

  • martial arts

    Often, martial arts. any of the traditional forms of Asian self-defense or combat that utilize physical skill and coordination without weapons, as karate, aikido, judo, or kung fu, often practiced as sport.

  • mayhem

    Law. the crime of willfully inflicting a bodily injury on another so as to make the victim less capable of self-defense or, under modern statutes, so as to cripple or mutilate the victim.

  • paranoia

    Psychiatry. a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts, which are ascribed to the supposed hostility of others, sometimes progressing to disturbances of consciousness and aggressive acts believed to be performed in self-defense or as a mission.
All related words to self-defense

See also

Matching words

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