Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.

他们问到钱的问题时，她就警觉起来。

《牛津词典》

Liz recommends avoiding the use of 'why' since it will put many people on the defensive.

Liz建议问问题的时候避免使用“为什么”，因为这个词会使得很多人产生防御感。

youdao

If you put people on the defensive, they're much less likely to understand or embrace your choices.

如果你将人们置于防卫的状态，他们将更不易去理解或接受你的选择了。

youdao

In the short term, analyst David Gergen believes the outbursts at the town hall meetings have put the Obama administration on the defensive.

VOA: standard.2009.08.17

But it is the first time that the frontrunner was put on the defensive so often.

NPR: Clinton No Longer Unscathed Front-Runner

But Det Botha was later put on the defensive when questioned by Mr Pistorius's lawyer, says our correspondent.

BBC: Pistorius witness 'heard shots, screams, more shots'

In a funny way, during the boom of television and cable, print was put on the defensive fence, if you will.

CNN: New media works alongside?old