Defiantly
By Mrs. Walny
Defiantly
• Part of Speech:
Adverb
• Definition:
openly resisting,
bold disobedience,
in a rebellious manner
Use in the Novel
• Sentence from the novel: Cole Matthews
defiantly knelt in the bow of the aluminum skiff
as he faced forward in a cold September wind.
• Why Ben Mikaelsen chose this word: This word
captures Cole’s attitude at the beginning of the
novel. Using the word defiantly in the first
sentence of the novel immediately characterizes
Cole as someone who breaks rules and disobeys
authority.
Original Sentence
• Mrs. Wathen defiantly walked past the
security guard at the school’s main entrance.
Etymology
• Comes from Middle English – denoting the
renunciation of an alliance or friendship
• Comes from Old French 1300 – defier (defy)
"to challenge, defy, provoke; renounce (a
belief), repudiate (a vow, etc.),"
• Meaning in English shifted 14c. from "be
disloyal" to "to challenge."
Required Content
• Difference between adverb and adjective.
• An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another
adverb. Defiantly is an adverb because it is
modifying the verb knelt – it describes how Cole
is kneeling. Adverbs answer the question when,
where, how, how long, why, to what extent.
• An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun. The
adjective form of this term is defiant. Cole has a
defiant attitude. The word attitude is a noun, so
the adjective defiant is used to describe it.
Other uses of the word:
• 1. U.S.S. Defiant – starship on the television
show Star Trek. It is one of the most heavily
armed warships in the quadrant.
Other uses of the word:
• 2. Defiant Comics – created when the founder
couldn’t retain partial ownership of his
previous company.
Other uses of the word:
3. Defiant Tattoos –
tattoo and body
piercing studio in
Minneapolis
Other uses of the word:
• 4. The Defiant Ones –
a 1958 movie about two
convicts who are chained
together as they escape.
One is black and one is
white, and they have to
learn to work together.
Review
• Defiantly means in rebellious manner
• Adverb – use it with verbs, adjectives, adverbs
• Used in novel to characterize Cole