dexify
English
Etymology
Blend of defend + explain + justify
Verb
dexify (third-person singular simple present dexifies, present participle dexifying, simple past and past participle dexified)
- Defend, explain, and/or justify.
- 1986, David Brandt, Don't Stop Now, You're Killing Me: The Sadomasochism Game in Everyday Life and How Not to Play It, Poseidon Press, →ISBN, OL 2712285M, page 88:
- This is a common masochistic sabotage that I describe with the acronym "dexify." When individuals defend, explain, or justify, they are unnecessarily supporting the reasons for their decision and giving others the opportunity to rebut their rationale.
- 1991, Roberta Jean Bryant, Stop Improving Yourself and Start Living, New World Library, →ISBN, OL 1864494M, page 65:
- Powerful people don't dexify (defend, explain, or justify).
- 1991 March, David Farlow, “Principles of Rapport - Focus Group Moderation”, in Quirk's Marketing Research Review, volume 5:
- The reason for this is that when you ask "why" questions people feel defensive and have a tendency to "dexify" (defend, explain, justify) what they said.
- 1998 March 10, Robert Holman Coombs, Surviving Medical School, Thousand Oaks; London; New Delhi: Sage Publications, →ISBN, OL 687015M, page 145:
- We may “dexify” — try to defend, explain and justify — so that the angry person will stop being angry with us.
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