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Defied Quotes

On refusing to stay inside the lines.

Defiance takes several forms in this set — women across cultures who broke with expectation to live on their own terms, and a genre of music that resisted every attempt to define it statistically. One reflection also honors prominent public figures who overcame long odds during a period of real racial progress. See Amazing.

In every single culture I encountered, there were always women who defied cultural norms to do what they believed was right for them. This phenomenon has never been related to how rich, poor, successful or not successful the woman may...

Quotes by Zainab Salbi

Dizzee's just my childhood hero. He's definitely the inspiration. He's got himself to a very good place. He's defied the expectations of what British black urban music was like. He was the first person who made the rest of Britain...

Quotes by Tinie Tempah

In her second career as a minister, my mother defied a legacy of chauvinism to become a leader of our community, overseeing a church that served as a hub, offering parenting classes, a food pantry, after-school programming, and - in...

Quotes by Stacey Abrams

I think that hip-hop has done what it was supposed to have done, which is it defied all the laws of what is statistically a music genre and what statistically is not a music genre. Because it wasn't supposed to...

Quotes by Monie Love

Amazing Quotes

The clock has been turned back on racial progress in America, though scarcely anyone seems to notice. All eyes are fixed on people like Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey who have defied the odds and achieved great power, wealth, and...

Quotes by Michelle Alexander

I defied nothing at all. I ignored the law because I didn't know it existed. It didn't occur to me that anyone would want to curb my inspiration.

Quotes by Margaret Anderson

I defied the machinery to make me its slave. Its incessant discords could not drown the music of my thoughts if I would let them fly high enough.

Quotes by Lucy Larcom

He was so tenacious he defied the distraction of women by refusing to have them in his presence, just as later in life he denied his blindness by calling for more and more candles.

Quotes by Kit Williams

Bush the Elder's stature as president grows with every passing year. He was the finest foreign policy president I've ever covered and a man who defied his party on tax increases while imposing budget restrictions on the Democrats.

Quotes by Joe Klein

American Quotes

Tesla has defied everyone's predictions again and again. It has such a unique position in the market, and so far, whatever people think about Tesla and its business model, there is one fact that nobody can dispute: It pretty much...

Quotes by Henrik Fisker

First, we could have defied both of them and could have gone to war against both of these nations for this violation of international law and interference with our neutral rights.

Quotes by George William Norris

There have been, in recent years, many Asian American pioneers in the public eye who've defied the condescendingly complimentary 'model minority' stereotype: actors like Lucy Liu, artists like Maya Lin, moguls like Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. They are known, often...

Quotes by Eric Liu

And basically, the sense of the 'Pledge to America' is this: Republicans understand when we were in charge, we got fired in '06. We spent too much money. We defied the trust that the people had put in us. And...

Quotes by Eric Cantor

'Fade To Black' - just this amazing construct: a song that defied the definition of what Metallica was perceived to be at the time.

Quotes by David Draiman

Art Quotes

One of my inspirations, Harry Houdini, remains an icon of the art because he defied our primal fears. His demonstrations in the early 20th century, especially his escape from the Chinese water torture cell, represented triumph over suffocation, drowning, disorientation...

Quotes by Criss Angel

Just two weeks ago, millions of Iraqis defied the threats of terrorists and went to the polls to determine their own future. I congratulate the Iraqi people for the courage they've shown in making these elections so successful.

Quotes by Bill Frist

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Defied quotes page cover?
It focuses on people and movements that pushed past what was expected of them — women who broke cultural norms across different societies, and a music genre that resisted easy statistical classification.
Why do people search for quotes about defying expectations?
This is a common search for readers looking for language around resilience, breaking barriers, or overcoming long odds in a specific field or era.
Does the page reference real historical progress?
Yes, one reflection notes that prominent public figures achieved things once thought unlikely during a period of real racial progress in America, even as that progress has since slowed.
Is music discussed as an example of defiance?
It is — one quote credits hip-hop with defying the usual rules of what counts, statistically, as a distinct music genre.
What's a related page to check out next?
The Amazing quotes touch on similar themes of achievement against the odds.

Read together, these quotes treat defiance less as rebellion for its own sake and more as the cost of doing something genuinely new. Related reading: Better and Art.