self-defense

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After the four-day civil hearing, Circuit Court Judge Eugene C. Griffith Jr. said Boyd’s self-defense claim wasn’t credible, and he ruled that Boyd wasn’t entitled to civil and criminal immunity under the state’s stand-your-ground law.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

In all three states, a defendant arguing self-defense must show that they were responding to a reasonable fear of imminent danger to justify the shooting.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

The agents involved in the shootings have not spoken publicly, but a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security defended Good’s shooting, saying the agent acted in self-defense.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

But self-defense is far from being embraced as a collective civic duty in Taiwan.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

Then, muffled voices, her mother's rising in anger, in persuasion, her father's deeper murmurs of explanation and self-defense.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez