The meaning of DEFENSIVE is serving to defend or protect. How to use defensive in a sentence.

If someone is defensive, the person feels criticized and quickly tries to explain:

2. of or pertaining to defense. 3. sensitive to the threat of criticism or injury to one's ego. n. 4. a position or attitude of defense: on the defensive about one's mistakes.

There are 17 meanings listed in OED's entry for the word defensive, five of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

Defensive is an adjective describing an attitude or behavior aimed at protecting oneself from criticism, harm, or attack. It often implies a reactive stance where actions are taken to guard against perceived …

We have taken many defensive measures [=we have done things to protect ourselves] against terrorist attacks. I was surprised by his defensive reaction to my suggestion. There's no need to get so …

DEFENSIVE definition: serving to defend; protective. See examples of defensive used in a sentence.