defend yourself
Protect your person
To defend yourself is to protect yourself from attack, criticism, or accusation.
The phrase spans physical and verbal contexts: fighting back against an assailant, responding to allegations, or arguing your position when challenged.
She had to defend herself against accusations of plagiarism.
He claimed he was just defending himself when the fight broke out.
Self-defense laws often hinge on whether someone was reasonably defending themselves.
- protectKeep from harm
- personal safetyOne's physical well-being
- shieldHandheld defensive armor
- stand your groundRefuse to back down
- hold your ownMaintain your position adequately
block · guard · resist · survival · last resort · martial arts · hand to hand · punch · kick · instinct · danger · threat · attacked · vulnerable · fight or flight · fists · weapon · stance
- fighting wordsfight me, bring it, square up, throw hands, step outside
defend yourselfattack
Aggressive act against another
strike first · aggress · assault · take the offensive · fight back
defend, yourself, defense, defensive, defensively, defensiveness, defender, defended, defending