defensiveness

[dih-fen-siv-nis]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

excessive concern with guarding against the real or imagined threat of criticism, injury to one’s ego, exposure of one’s shortcomings, etc..
Employee defensiveness may be reduced by moving the focus of the conversation from the person to the behaviors.
the condition of being abnormally sensitive to certain stimuli, leading to avoidance or overreaction.
Sensory defensiveness often takes the form of increased negative reactivity to noises from fans, clocks, car doors, etc.
the state or condition of being prepared to defend against attack from an enemy.
A military adviser’s job involves improving a nation's army and overall defensiveness against foreign attackers.

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Other Word Forms

nondefensiveness noun
overdefensiveness noun
semidefensiveness noun
undefensiveness noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of defensiveness¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; defensive ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

There was much mockery of Noem for being so dumb in mainstream and left-leaning media, but notably, neither Noem nor her allies have shown any shame or defensiveness about her alleged mistake.

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But, he adds, defensiveness is not the way the Church can win back its credibility.

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Fiona Murphy KC told the hearing "institutional defensiveness" by health providers was hindering inquests and preventing families from getting closure.

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Perhaps this was out of defensiveness once the freedom narrative took hold and people started noticing how small Flaco’s enclosure had been.

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I worked very hard to shut up when someone wanted to express a resentment, instead of letting the childhood habits of defensiveness take over.

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defensive medicine defer

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