defensively

1. 1.

   in an apologetic and defensive manner

   “`I felt it better you should know,' said Sir Cedric defensively”
2. 2.

   in a defensive manner

   “the general conviction that our side is in the right and acting defensively over what Russians call the German question and Americans the Berlin crisis”

   Antonymsoffensively

Questions about defensively

What does defensively mean?

defensively means "in an apologetic and defensive manner". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in defensively?

defensively has 4 syllables: defen-siv-e-ly. The stress falls on "siv". In IPA it is /dɪˈfɛnsɪvli/.

What is the opposite of defensively?

The recorded antonyms are offensively.