defensiveness

English

Etymology

From defensive +‎ -ness.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˈfɛnsɪvnəs/

Noun

defensiveness (usually uncountable, plural defensivenesses)

1. The state or quality of being defensive.
   • 1976 February 7, Don Shewey, “Haunted Host (review)”, in Gay Community News, volume 3, number 32, page 14:

     The gay vs. straight confrontation has been dealt with before in movies and plays but never with the gay character in control and never so free of defensiveness or homosexual guilt.

Translations

state or quality

• Finnish: defensiivisyys (fi)
• Hungarian: hárítás (hu), elhárítás (hu), védekezés (hu), defenzivitás