Defies meaning

Alex defies father now, but he will not win.

The first thing noticeable about him is that he defies all customary and mechanical classification.

When the latter is lost during flight, the rapidity of their movement defies pursuit.

It is cut in the volcanic plateau, and its ragged broken walls, which are inclined at very steep angles, are of a richness of colouring that almost defies description, a colouring that is produced by the action of the thermal springs, at the base of the canyon, upon the mineral pigments in the lava.

Sterne's character defies analysis in brief space.