Defiant
Defiant adjective - Given to resisting authority or another's control.
Usage example: the defiant puppy refused to let go of the football
Submissive
Submissive adjective - Readily giving in to the command or authority of another.
Usage example: it's not in her nature to be submissive
Defiant is an antonym for submissive.
Nearby Words: submission, submissively
Both words in one sentence
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Beloved by moe fans for her deliberate cuteness, despised by the older Sonic fans for having a submissive attitude contrary to the defiant one around which the series was built.
Source: Periphery Hatedom - In "Checkmate," Number Six determines which of his fellow villagers are prisoners and which are guards by observing their mannerisms (prisoners are meek and submissive, while guards are defiant and confident).
- Never mind that Kratos is canonically submissive to the Big Bad for most of the game — his outfit during that time is even modeled off Japanese bondage gear or that Yuan is a defiant Manipulative Bastard with what looks like they might be control issues: Yuan is prettier, so he gets to be uke.
Source: Wimpification
Cite this Source
Submissive and Defiant. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/defiant/submissive
Defiant & Submissive. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/defiant/submissive>.
Submissive or Defiant. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/defiant/submissive.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "defiant" and "submissive" have occurred on timeline