defensible

/di'fensəbl/

Thân thiện

The castle on the hill is defensible against any attack.

Definition

Adjective: 1. Capable of being defended, protected, or justified: Describes something that can be successfully supported against attack, criticism, or challenge. It implies that a position, argument, or physical location has reasonable grounds for support.

Usage

The word "defensible" is used to describe ideas, actions, or physical spaces that have a valid basis for protection or support. It often appears in discussions of ethics, military strategy, law, and debate. - It is typically used as a predicate adjective (e.g., "The argument is defensible") or attributively before a noun (e.g., "a defensible position"). - It describes the potential to be defended, not the act of defending itself.

Examples

• Moral/Logical Argument:
  • His decision, while unpopular, was morally defensible.
  • From a scientific standpoint, her hypothesis is entirely defensible.
• Physical/Military Context:
  • The castle was built on a hill, making it easily defensible.
  • They retreated to a more defensible location.
• Legal/Professional Context:
  • The lawyer argued that her client's actions were legally defensible.
  • The audit found the accounting practices to be defensible.

Advanced Usage

• "Defensible space": A term in urban design and criminology referring to an environment whose physical design allows residents to naturally control and monitor areas to prevent crime.
  • The housing project was redesigned to create more defensible space for the community.
• "Ethically defensible": Used to describe a choice or policy that can be justified according to a system of ethics.
  • The committee had to determine if the research proposal was ethically defensible.

Variants and Related Words

• Defend (verb): To protect from harm, danger, or attack; to support or justify by argument.
• Defense (noun): The action of defending from or resisting attack; the case presented by or on behalf of the party being accused or sued.
• Indefensible (adjective): Incapable of being defended, protected, or justified. (The direct antonym of "defensible").
  • The general's tactics were criticized as militarily indefensible.

Synonyms

• Justifiable: Capable of being shown to be right or reasonable.
• Tenable: Able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection.
• Supportable: Capable of being upheld or defended as valid or correct.
• Defendable: (Less common) Having the capacity to be defended.

Antonyms

• Indefensible: Not justifiable; inexcusable.
• Unjustifiable: Impossible to excuse or justify.
• Untenable: Not able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection.

Idioms and Phrases

• A defensible position: This phrase is used both literally (a physical location that can be protected) and figuratively (a viewpoint or argument that has solid reasoning).
  • By citing the latest data, she put herself in a defensible position during the debate.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. capable of being defended

Từ đồng nghĩa

• defendable