Louis XIV
King
"Impatience for victory guarantees defeat"
Defeat quotes
Defeat
379 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Shirley Chisholm
Politician, Educator
"Defeat should not be the source of discouragement, but a stimulus to keep plotting."
Charles Bukowski
Poet, Novelist
"I am a series of small victories and large defeats and I am as amazed as any other that I have gotten from there to here."
Bruce Lee
Martial Artist, Actor, Director
"Everyone wants to learn how to win, but no one wants to learn how to accept defeat."
Confucius
Philosopher
"There are 1,000 lessons in defeat. But only one in victory."
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Topics related to Defeat
Browse quotes that often appear alongside defeat — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
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Defeat quotes (page 1 of 19)
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"A patchwork solution of provincial targets is an admission of defeat and a statement that we have failed our children and grandchildren."
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"There is no greater magnificence than to defeat oneself. That is the magnificence."
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"I have been whipped, as the saying is, but I am sure I can recover all the lost capital occasioned by that disaster; by only hanging a few moments by the neck; and I feel quite determined to make the utmost possible out of a defeat."
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"Basically, at the very bottom of life, which seduces us all, there is only absurdity, and more absurdity. And maybe that's what gives us our joy for living, because the only thing that can defeat absurdity is lucidity."
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"Let me not be so vain to think that I'm the sole author of my victories and a victim of my defeats."
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"The way to defeat fear: decide on a course of conduct and follow it. Keep so busy and work so hard that you forget about being afraid."
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"The experience of the self is always a defeat for the ego."
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"Heroes are made in the hour of defeat. Success is, therefore, well described as a series of glorious defeats."
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"When something happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it."
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"I am a series of small victories and large defeats."
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"Chaos is found in greatest abundance wherever order is being sought. It always defeats order, because it is better organized."
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"There is a vast difference between failure and temporary defeat."
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"Tyranny cannot defeat the power of ideas."
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"People aren't overcome by situations or outside forces. Defeat comes from within."
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"Defeat the enemies strategy."
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"We cannot bank our hopes on possibilities. We must put our trust in ourselves, in our capabilities and efforts and strength and preparations not only for our success but even to avoid our own defeat."
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"It might be that to surrender to happiness was to accept defeat, but it was a defeat better than many victories."
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"Every story of conversion is the story of a blessed defeat."
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"I always want to defeat supervillains - it's just the chicken-and-broccoli diet that I'm not into."
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"The only way to defeat pain is to recognize pain exists."
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