defensive

About 9.50 uses per million words.

Meaning

adjective Intended for defence; protective.
a defensive perimeter
adjective Intended to deter attack.
a defensive missile system
adjective Performed so as to minimise risk.
defensive driving
adjective Displaying an inordinate sensitivity to criticism or intrusion; oversensitive; thin-skinned.
adjective Of a bowling or fielding tactic designed to prevent the other side from scoring runs; of a batting tactic designed to prevent being out.
adjective Pertaining to defense, as opposed to attack.
The victim held up his hand to repel the attacker and received a defensive knife wound.
adjective In a state or posture of defense.
noun A means, attitude or position of defense. Chiefly in on the defensive. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}