How To Use Defensible In A Sentence

The move would draw flak, but would be defensible. Times, Sunday Times
On the contrary; it's perfectly logical and defensible. Times, Sunday Times
How do we make legitimate and defensible distinctions between medically necessary and superfluous therapy?
It is true that Herbert Butterfield remarked that the trick of writing history lay in ‘the art of abridgement’, but abridgement must be both sensible and defensible.
Macarthy, the defence lawyer, found himself in the position of trying to defend the indefensible and justify the unjustifiable.

Name withheld No, it is not morally defensible. Times, Sunday Times
It is absurd and morally indefensible to continue with a policy that causes so much hardship, misery and wastes councils' time and resources. Times, Sunday Times
But that doesn't justify this behavior, which is indefensible on several grounds.
This means that universal credit changes will today become politically indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
It is not morally defensible to recycle failing teachers around the system. Times, Sunday Times
The fact that he cites, in his defense, a first class degree from Cambridge ‘specializing in philosophy’ only makes more indefensible his howlers and misconceptions.
On the contrary; it's perfectly logical and defensible. Times, Sunday Times
High petrol taxes are defensible on ecological grounds.
In a fiercely tribal society, with traditions of internecine warfare that lasted at least until ten years ago, defensible towns and houses were vital.
It is bad enough we find ourselves in an intellectually indefensible position. The Sun
To argue otherwise is trying to defend the indefensible.
Instead, notice the film's meticulousness in saying only ‘true’ or defensible things in support of a completely misleading impression.
Unless some easily defensible frontier could be found, the northerners would remain outside the Imperial frontiers. THE FOUR NATIONS: A History of the United Kingdom
But if they decided to move in strength, he would never be able to stop them, however defensible the Gullet might be.
The fact that it is possible for a doctor to continue to practice for decades after qualification without ever opening a book or taking any other steps to keep up to date has long seemed indefensible.
Defensible conclusions in analyses of politics often require extensive data, thorough analysis, and consideration of several alternative explanations.
From describing the Iraqi insurgency as being in its "last throes" (when it was patently just getting revved up for its second throes) to calling the acceptability of waterboarding a "no-brainer" (when even the people who conduct it say that the information it yields cannot be relied upon), he continues to defend the indefensible with the implausible and the discredited. Ellis Weiner: International Man of Mystery
To do so would clearly be morally indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
For let no man thinke that culuerin or demy-canon can sufficiently batter a defensible rampire: and of those pieces which we had; the better of the demy-canons at the second shot brake in her carriages, so as the battery was of lesse force, being but of three pieces. The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation
This occurred because individuals with relatively low rates of loss of larder-hoarded items were able to build up large defensible stores in their larders and, therefore, had very high reproductive success.
March 25th, 1945 saw members reconnoitering the beaches at the southwest tip of Tokashika Shima, a dangerous job as the landing beach was in a cove surrounded by easily defensible high ground.
There is no advantage to be gained by Opposition Members seeking to defend the indefensible.
My lack of faith and fear about writing now seemed puny and indefensible.
The only sensible and morally defensible route is to promote greater understanding and tolerance, and to educate the population on immigration issues.
It's hard to knock this decision in political terms, and it has a defensible legal rationale.
East's defence was less defensible. Times, Sunday Times
Anything less will amount to a pay cut and that is morally and economically indefensible.
I find walking boots morally indefensible in their ugliness. Times, Sunday Times
It is absurd and morally indefensible to continue with a policy that causes so much hardship, misery and wastes councils' time and resources. Times, Sunday Times
The blockade has long since become indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
It would be morally indefensible for her to desert her father now.
Instead, they defend an act which is simply indefensible.
The latter three register as defensible, legitimate recordings, no matter how ill-disposed a given listener's attitude might be towards the genre.
If the hearings uncover some incontrovertible evidence of corruption he could look like a defender of the indefensible.
There is a perfectly defensible case to be made for a Britain that engages less actively in the questions that confront the world. Times, Sunday Times
We have to make sure that any activity we take is legally defensible. Times, Sunday Times
Duncan, is a very pretty defensible sort of a tenement, and yet it is hardly such as a cavaliero of honour would expect to maintain his credit by holding out for many days. A Legend of Montrose
Because you chose to engage in hyperbole, and use the word “dwarfed”, you are now in an indefensible position, and you know it. Matthew Yglesias » Mass Transit is As American as Apple Pie
Unless some easily defensible frontier could be found, the northerners would remain outside the Imperial frontiers. THE FOUR NATIONS: A History of the United Kingdom
This theme is one of the elements in his new work, a detailed examination of the brutal history and indefensible consequences of aerial bombardment.
Such omissions may have been plausible in the first blush of enthusiasm for reform, but they seem indefensible after many decades of evidence that adventurous teaching is rare. quoted from 《teaching practice: plus que ca change》, p38 Human-Error Processor
As well as being defensible strongholds and elite private residences, most castles were also the hubs of estates.
Labour had arrived at a series of defensible policy positions. Times, Sunday Times
East's defence was less defensible. Times, Sunday Times
The stance is otherwise totally indefensible.
Although it must be defended, the British budget rebate is indefensible.
We know why it has happened, but it's a historical anomaly and indefensible in democratic terms. Times, Sunday Times
She described the new policy as "morally indefensible".
extreme and indefensible polar positions
In other instances, some of these learned men and women, devoid of principles, have thought nothing of taking up watertight and indefensible cases just for the money.
The law is morally indefensible and in need of reform.
Labour had arrived at a series of defensible policy positions. Times, Sunday Times
If the leap of faith in abiogenesis can persist despite the repeated failure of attempted abiogenesis theories and the absence of any defensible explanation of how it is supposed to actually work, how can a faithful believer in abiogenesis know if that faith is misplaced and they are wrong? Convincing Evidence for God
It may well be defensible, but it does not receive anything like an adequate exposition, never mind defence, here.
This second drop was far less defensible morally, but it had the desired result. The American Nation: A History of the United States to 1877
That, to me, is totally unacceptable and morally indefensible.
The judge said that this position was indefensible and there are many innocent people whose DNA is on the database who feel the same. Times, Sunday Times
East's defence was less defensible. Times, Sunday Times
In a meritocratic society, intelligence was a defensible rationale for social distinctions.
The main contribution of the paper is to divide shocks into two types, economy-wide shocks that hit all sectors, and sector specific shocks that hit individual sectors, and to do so in an econometrically defensible manner. Economist's View
The blockade has long since become indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
If the hearings uncover some incontrovertible evidence of corruption he could look like a defender of the indefensible.
If these were switched off, the licence fee would become indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
They have to come up with reasonable and defensible public policies that can be explained in terms of the public interest.
With the single exception of Ferdinand Lassalle, there was no revolutionary leader who was not an obvious impossibilist in practical politics; and Lassalle got himself killed in a romantic and quite indefensible duel after wrecking his health in a titanic oratorical campaign which convinced him that the great majority of the working classes were not ready to join him, and that the minority who were ready did not understand him. The Perfect Wagnerite, Commentary on the Ring
The Israeli leader said while there are differences "here and there," there is what he called an overall direction for the U.S. and Israel to pursue what he called a "peace that is defensible" between Israel and Palestinians. Obama, Netanyahu: Hamas Not a Partner for Peace
This interpretation is perfectly understandable and defensible from a moral and emotional standpoint.
That doesnt make the ethnical cleaning in anyway defensible on some idiotic two wrongs make it right ground as done here by various people. Matthew Yglesias » Goldberg: The Middle East Is Complicated and It’s All the Arabs’ Fault
The tactic of climbing over the side of the mountain, rather than maintaining a defensible position, was not militarily sound.
Self regulation is not magic: it requires substantive, defensible, and valid processes.
Defensible conclusions in analyses of politics often require extensive data, thorough analysis, and consideration of several alternative explanations.
But to be defensible, land must be contiguous; it cannot be cut through by a grid controlled by an occupying power.
The Revolution was an explosion of popular violence, understandable if scarcely defensible resentment.
The idea that our arguments and ideas are indefensible is patently ridiculous.
Not every decision or action may be defensible, warranting both guidelines and the scrutiny the review intended.
The city was situated in such a way that made it indefensible against attack, leading them to compromise rather than be conquered.
For him, this is the be all and end all of everything, his key unargued and indefensible bedrock presupposition that simply must be accepted. Archive 2008-01-01
They can see them boobing their speculations about indefensible targets from station to station on television, or read articles like Garwin's to replenish their strategies of mass assassination. 'Facing Up to Things'
There may be various degrees of justice within such a framework, but the system itself is morally defensible. The Making of Neoclassical Economics
But although I've long reckoned him to be a grade 1 careerist and a bit of a chancer, I've always strangely liked him, can appreciate his strengths, certainly his hard work, and at times his sheer balls when defending the indefensible. Archive 2009-03-01
However, the Department of Homeland Security's practice of jailing "unadjusted" refugees after a year is indefensible. The Media Consortium: Weekly Diaspora: Quiet Raids, Slippery ICE and Grinches
This process of distillation allows us to impose order upon chaos and to justify the indefensible.
•You think socklessness is a morally defensible position. NYT > Home Page
But could the spectacle of a completely discredited president -- where the discrediting is in effect led by Jim Baker, not by Nancy Pelosi -- putting American soldiers (including Jim Webb's son) in jeopardy for no truly defensible reason, relying only on his legal powers as president, be the trainwreck needed to generate serious discussion of the merits of a fixed-term, non-replaceable (save for criminal misconduct) president? Balkinization
Or was it a complex mixture of defensible goals and disastrous execution?
That is not a defensible position. Times, Sunday Times
Counsel for the 1986 Trustee submits that the claims are stale, speculative, defensible and likely to fail.
Legally defensible property rights are essential to the process of capital creation, in that property can be used as collateral on loans to grow a small business.
At the very least, to be a defensible use of a firearm, the shooter must substantiate that the other weapon exists and that it is being brought to bear in a threatening manner.
Tools exist that can synthesise such data to scientific standards and provide logical and defensible conclusions about impacts on a system, a population, and society.
In making my argument with Coyne, I accept the label "accommodationist," a catch-all term -- intended to be derogatory -- for people who believe there is intellectually defensible space in between the opposing positions represented by Coyne and Mohler. Karl Giberson, Ph.D: The Precarious But Profound Middle Ground In The Struggle Between Religion And Science
His logic is flawed, indefensible and dangerous.
Its function remains uncertain: it may have been conceived as a defensible barrier, or, more probably, as a well-defined frontier between two countries.
It is not morally defensible to recycle failing teachers around the system. Times, Sunday Times
It's not good enough and nor is it morally defensible. Times, Sunday Times
Definitions by poll are neither scientifically nor philosophically defensible.
This means that universal credit changes will today become politically indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
Suggesting that Jones should resign is defensible without appealing to perfection. If we can’t make mistakes, then we can’t do science | Serendipity
That is not a defensible position. Times, Sunday Times
March 25th, 1945 saw members reconnoitering the beaches at the southwest tip of Tokashika Shima, a dangerous job as the landing beach was in a cove surrounded by easily defensible high ground.
If this is so, it is worse than morally indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
The principles of this were defensible space, community interaction, natural surveillance, estate design and target hardening.
There may be various degrees of justice within such a framework, but the system itself is morally defensible. The Making of Neoclassical Economics
History, mathematics, literature and civics are defensible as tools of the productive work force.
Posterior Analytics II. 19 is difficult to interpret, and recent philosophers have often found it unsatisfying since (as often construed) it appears to commit Aristotle to a form of apriorism or rationalism both indefensible in itself and not consonant with his own insistence on the indispensability of empirical inquiry in natural science. Aristotle's Logic
Finally, they help protect the organization from legal risk by restricting the behaviors of organizational members to those that are legally defensible. Human Resource Management in Government
Is abortion morally defensible?
Fort Cumberland should be kept as defensible as possible until spring, Dinwiddie answered, but not made cannon-proof unless it could be done “at a small expence.” George Washington’s First War
There may be various degrees of justice within such a framework, but the system itself is morally defensible. The Making of Neoclassical Economics
But if we take the task of analyzing terms to be that of making explicit and systematizing the platitudes employing that term affirmed by masterful users of that term (Smith 1994, pp. 29-32), and we note that many thoughtful Jews and Christians who otherwise appear to be masterful users of the language of moral obligation have rejected, either explicitly or implicitly, the notion that an act is obligatory if and only if it has been commanded by God, then we would have some reason to doubt whether the analysis formulation of theological voluntarism is defensible. Theological Voluntarism
Such a view, though defensible in theory, would destroy all semblance of coequality from a practical standpoint.
And, the obvious political scheming is equally indefensible to the point that unless I hear something that modifies, retracts or in some way qualifies what I think he is saying, I will no longer be able to speak on his behalf. Obama’s Chat With Bill Clinton - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com
Every time the army was caught out there would be some toffee-nosed officer defending the indefensible and whitewashing the problem.
Now it is abruptly condemned as morally indefensible and politically anachronistic. Times, Sunday Times
It is difficult to calculate how many billions of dollars the government spends on indefensible, if not illegal, self-promotion.
The judge said that this position was indefensible and there are many innocent people whose DNA is on the database who feel the same. Times, Sunday Times
But I do think Judge Cedarbaum was very clear in her reasoning, very logical and very defensible.
This second drop was far less defensible morally, but it had the desired result. The American Nation: A History of the United States to 1877
To me, trying to "conserve" the status quo is a far more indefensible view, since the status quo is not all that great. Rove: Palin's resignation lacks clear strategy
We are forced to defend a system we know to be indefensible.
His view is simple: all real power must stay in the Commons - a laudable idea when the second chamber is a mix of heredity and appointment, but indefensible where it is democratically elected.
Why, then, do we continue to use the motifs of the Great War, the least defensible of all wars?
Satellite television stations under the control of press barons and modelled on the tabloid press may make inaction even more indefensible.
There is a perfectly defensible case to be made for a Britain that engages less actively in the questions that confront the world. Times, Sunday Times
But because dominations is never wholly eliminable, defensible politics is inherently fragile. Paul Ricoeur
It is not morally defensible to recycle failing teachers around the system. Times, Sunday Times
The reason for this legislative skullduggery is obvious: No one wants to publicly defend the indefensible.
We have to make sure that any activity we take is legally defensible. Times, Sunday Times
But if the argument against extra-judicial disconnection is so strong then surely a policy that lets network service providers keep millions of people from having a usable, fast and reliable connection to the internet must also be morally indefensible? ‘The offline masses lack a voice …’
Marjorie's book will exhilarate you, because it is such a thorough de-masking of the indefensible.
But are the censors' actions justified or defensible?
When that censorship is endorsed by a legal judgment it becomes indefensible and sinister. Times, Sunday Times
Her silly behaviour puts her in an indefensible position.
Yes, budget deficits and indefensible tax cuts are moral issues, too.
He points out that all of the branches or groups technically called clades known to have primitively eusocial species—aculeate wasps, halictine and xylocopine bees, sponge-nesting shrimp, termopsid termites, colonial aphids and thrips, ambrosia beetles, and naked mole rats—rely on colonies that build and occupy defensible nests. SuperCooperators
If this is so, it is worse than morally indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
We have to make sure that any activity we take is legally defensible. Times, Sunday Times
Name withheld No, it is not morally defensible. Times, Sunday Times
In terms of the competition of routes, he diagrammed cases where more roundabout routes may be economically defensible.
Haggis said that he felt "dumbstruck and horrified," adding, "Tommy, if only a fraction of these accusations are true, we are talking about serious, indefensible human and civil-rights violations.
That argument should be based on five simple and defensible propositions.
Macarthy, the defence lawyer, found himself in the position of trying to defend the indefensible and justify the unjustifiable.
Northcross says "... advocating civil disobedience is indefensible ... NASA Employees Can Now Invoke The Hansen Precedent - NASA Watch
Those of vague faith hold a perfectly reasonable and defensible position in a world of plenty.
All except the most rabid racists considered racial segregation immoral and indefensible.
Finally, they help protect the organization from legal risk by restricting the behaviors of organizational members to those that are legally defensible. Human Resource Management in Government
Unless some easily defensible frontier could be found, the northerners would remain outside the Imperial frontiers. THE FOUR NATIONS: A History of the United Kingdom
I simply point out that they are articles of faith, and are NOT rationally defensible standpoints as most scientists would have you believe.
I'm sure many of our posters will try to find words to defend Hansen, but advocating civil disobedience is indefensible, even if his climate conjectures prove to be correct. mike shupp NASA Employees Can Now Invoke The Hansen Precedent - NASA Watch
While the Henry Hyde thing was non-defensible, at least he hasn't tried to justify Polanski slipping a roofy to a 13 year old girl and raping her. That "rude, thoughtless, little pig" is beautiful.
Zumbo was, in my opinion, a good example, not because Zumbo was right or because what he said was defensible, but because the reaction was disproportionate to the offense, as even some pro-gunnies like Uncle conceded. How To Attract The Crazies And Start A Flame War In One Easy Lesson « Lean Left
Here they come, the hoary historical clichés, wheeled out to defend the indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
I find walking boots morally indefensible in their ugliness. Times, Sunday Times
Why not get it done to save all concerned an indeterminable, indefensible amount of time, money and credibility?
We expect, and demand, that the authorities do all within their power to put a definitive end to this utterly indefensible action.
Dworkin argues persuasively that in defending the antisegregation principle Bork necessarily engaged in moral philosophy: he chose from among various linguistically and historically defensible rules the one that seemed most "principled. Reagan's Justice: An Exchange
Following the war, UN resolution 242 recognized the nation's right to defensible borders, to be set in negotiations.
Labour had arrived at a series of defensible policy positions. Times, Sunday Times
But to risk an animal's wellbeing in the heat of a race is indefensible and unacceptable. The Sun
This is a substantially weaker thesis, and I shall assume for purposes of argument that it is defensible.
That is not a defensible position. Times, Sunday Times
Here they come, the hoary historical clichés, wheeled out to defend the indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
The merger was a rationally defensible idea which failed because it involved too high a cultural price.
But letting criminals off lightly to save money would be morally indefensible. The Sun
Benchmarking awards, seen by many as utterly indefensible and absurd under current economic conditions, will be paid.
Now it is abruptly condemned as morally indefensible and politically anachronistic. Times, Sunday Times
If these were switched off, the licence fee would become indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
On the contrary; it's perfectly logical and defensible. Times, Sunday Times
A city built on an island is easily defensible.
To do so would clearly be morally indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
This is fundamentally flawed and scientifically indefensible.
This process of distillation allows us to impose order upon chaos and to justify the indefensible.
However, repeatedly characterizing McCain's false claims as him likely being "confused" is defensible, and within the bounds of bare-knuckled political brawling. Archive 2008-03-01
If he unprovokedly I know it isn’t a word, but it should be pointed the shotgun at them, it’s entirely indefensible that he wasn’t charged and they were. The Volokh Conspiracy » Should We Be Blogging About the “Jena 6″?:
While this is certainly possible, a critical point Barr emphasizes is that proposing an infinity of unobservable entities is no more scientifically defensible than proposing a single unobservable one God. Matt J. Rossano: Are Infinities More Scientific Than God?
It's not good enough and nor is it morally defensible. Times, Sunday Times
This means that universal credit changes will today become politically indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
During the debate in the U.N. Security Council on January 6, 2009 the Israeli Ambassador Gabriela Shalev delivered a speech that can only be described as masterfully crafted lies, myths, and spin to defend the indefensible in Israel's "genocide du jour" against the Palestinians that began in 1944. Elections - fresh news by plazoo.com
The naturally defensible site may even have been a prehistoric hillfort, and was certainly a stronghold of the Welsh princes.
Yet the experience of watching this intentionally incongruous coda is excruciating, and to no defensible effect beyond a shrug of the shoulders and an acknowledgement that literalizing the metaphysical is not Fassbinder's forte. GreenCine Daily: Shorts, fests, etc, 4/2.
Defensible conclusions in analyses of politics often require extensive data, thorough analysis, and consideration of several alternative explanations.
If attaching strings to future generations without their consent is wrong, the Social Security system is indefensible.
That is an entirely reasonable and defensible position.
This means that universal credit changes will today become politically indefensible. Times, Sunday Times
Despite regular meetings, you fail to notify your superiors of problems both with the build and with the budget, putting them in an indefensible public position.
National curriculum planning should be confined to devising a detailed and defensible set of school aims. Times, Sunday Times
His regime is morally indefensible, but your justification of continued military action in Libya on the basis of evidence that lies between the dubious and spurious brings to mind the phrase "weapons of mass destruction". Letters: Destabilised Libya will be ripe for al-Qaida
EPSTEIN: I stipulate to what Tom just said, I agree that the lack of his forthcomingness in the beginning phases of this was morally indefensible and was, if nothing else, I think harmful. CNN Transcript Aug 1, 2001
But letting criminals off lightly to save money would be morally indefensible. The Sun
The highest defensible estimates are several times higher in energy, perhaps magnitude 9. 3 to 9. 5.
I believe people today can be attracted to a belief system that is rational and defensible.
Name withheld No, it is not morally defensible. Times, Sunday Times
National curriculum planning should be confined to devising a detailed and defensible set of school aims. Times, Sunday Times
For a side that prides itself on its parsimonious nature, the case for the defence was frankly indefensible.
For hath not the want of 8 of the 12 pieces of artillerie, which were promised vnto the Aduenture, lost her maiestie the possession of the Groine and many other places, as hereafter shall appeare, whose defensible rampires were greater then our batterie (such as it was) cold force: and therefore were left vnattempted? The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation

How To Use Defensible In A Sentence

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