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Tenacity vs Defence - What's the difference?

tenacity | defence |

As nouns the difference between tenacity and defence

is that tenacity is the quality or state of being tenacious; as, tenacity, or retentiveness, of memory; tenacity, or persistency, of purpose while defence is the action of defending, of protecting from attack, danger or injury.

As a verb defence is

(obsolete|transitive) to furnish with defences; to fortify.

tenacity

English

Noun

(tenacities)
  • The quality or state of being tenacious; as, tenacity, or retentiveness, of memory; tenacity, or persistency, of purpose.
  • * 2009 , , PHD Comics: Softball: younger and faster
    • — Our opponents may be younger, faster and less out of shape than we are, but we have something they’ll never have!
    — Tenure?
    — Tenacity!
  • The quality of bodies which keeps them from parting without considerable force; cohesiveness; the effect of attraction; – as distinguished from brittleness, fragility, mobility, etc.
  • The quality of bodies which makes them adhere to other bodies; adhesiveness; viscosity.
  • The greatest longitudinal stress a substance can bear without tearing asunder, – usually expressed with reference to a unit area of the cross section of the substance, as the number of pounds per square inch, or kilograms per square centimeter, necessary to produce rupture.

    • Synonyms

    * (state of being tenacious) retentiveness, persistency * (quality keeping bodies together) cohesiveness * (quality making bodies adhere) adhesiveness, viscosity

    Antonyms

    * (quality keeping bodies together) brittleness, fragility, mobility

    defence

    English

    Alternative forms

    * defense (US )

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The action of defending, of protecting from attack, danger or injury.
  • * Shakespeare
    • In cases of defence 'tis best to weigh / The enemy more mighty than he seems.
  • Something used to oppose attack(s).
  • * 1592—1609 , , Sonnet XII:
    • And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
    Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.
  • An argument in support or justification of something.
  • * 1592—1609 , , Sonnet LXXXIX:
    • Speak of my lameness, and I straight will halt,
    Against thy reasons making no defence .
  • A strategy and tactics employed to prevent the other team from scoring; contrasted with offence.
  • The portion of a team dedicated to preventing the other team from scoring; contrasted with offence.
  • Government policy or (infra)structure related to the military.
    • Department of Defence
  • Prohibition; a prohibitory ordinance.
  • * Sir W. Temple
    • Severe defences against wearing any linen under a certain breadth.

    Synonyms

    * See

    Antonyms

    * offence (Commonwealth), offense (US)

    Derived terms

    * antidefence, antidefense * ecodefence, ecodefense * Nuremberg defence, Nuremberg defense * defensive * defensiveness

    Verb

    (defenc)
  • (obsolete) To furnish with defences; to fortify.
  • * Hales:
    • Better manned and more strongly defenced .