I saw a news article about a CFL football player for Hamilton. It said he plays “defence” but is called a “defensive end.” Is “defensive” always spelled with an ‘s’? Or only when referring to the football position?
Brits would also be qualified to answer this. Or probably Bloomfield.
In English English, ‘defensive’ is always spelled with an ‘s’ but ‘defence’ and ‘defense’ are both acceptable. The OED prefers the former and it would be far and away the most common spelling.
Edited to add: Partridge (Usage and Absuage) is usually sensible and fun but has nothing to say on the matter.
I use “defence” and “defensive” myself. I never even noticed there were two ways to spell it before. When I read, “defense” it always registered as “defence” for me. 
Same with me.
Is “defensive” always spelled with an ‘s’?
“Defencive” hurts my eyes–Would you spell it that way? Yuck!
Google prefers defensive.
“Did you mean: Defensive” they ask?
C’s and i’s don’t go together very well. Or do they?
Edited to add comical emoticons: 
Scion? Conscious?
“Defense” is the American spelling, I think. You do see “defence” coming from the Brits or Americans who like to call attention to their old-schoolness.
In Canadian writing you probably have a bit of a conflict going on between “defence,” which is a normal word used outside American Football, and therefore has a standard British English spelling, and “Defensive End” which is a thing (person?) that doesn’t exist in Britland and therefore wouldn’t have a British English spelling. Forced with such calamity, the poor Canadian writer used the only available spelling, the American one.
In Britain and Ireland, it’s always “defence”, for us “defense” is pure Merkin.
In Canadian usage, it looks as if association with an American sport is introducing the alternative spelling. In this part of the world you get something similar going on with “program” which is used for the computer thingy, and the normal spelling “programme” for any other kind of programme
Then there’s “licence”, which is the noun, and “license” which is the verb.
The s is also used whenever there is any kind of suffix (defensive, licensee etc.)
Two pints, please, Mr Licensee.
The word “defens(c)ive” is not used in Britain? Like s1m0n said, defencive is just plain ugly.
The breadth of Bloomfield’s knowledge and erudition, and the trenchant blade of his analysis, amazes us all regularly. Even when he, er, speculates baselessly, as here, it’s still entertaining. But it’s “defensive”, Bloo - the only accepted spelling anywhere in the Engrish-speaking world.
I was less than clear.
Defence is always spelt defence, never defense.
Defensive is never spelt defencive.
In the world of licensing, the thing issued is always a licence. When you issue one, you (the licensor) license whatever needs to be licensed by giving it to the licensee. Otherwise his actions would be unlicensed, and he would be little better than the licentious soldiery.
Now is that clear? 
Oh, and while we’re at it, a dependent person is a dependant, though maybe all this talk of licences and dependency is upetting some of our more liberal or, as they would put it, conservative American friends.
“Edited to add comical emoticons”
Just a bit of a joke
Oh, I understand that, I was confused by Bloom’s post that “defensive” is an American spelling.
and therefore has a standard British English spelling, and “Defensive End” which is a thing (person?) that doesn’t exist in Britland and therefore wouldn’t have a British English spelling. Forced with such calamity, the poor Canadian writer used the only available spelling, the American one.
I realize the Brits might not have defensive ends, but surely they must have defensive somethings.
In Canadian writing you probably have a bit of a conflict going on between “defence,” which is a normal word used outside American Football, and therefore has a standard British English spelling, and “Defensive End” which is a thing (person?) that doesn’t exist in Britland and therefore wouldn’t have a British English spelling.
“Nonsense,” muttered he defensively.
“Defensive end” may not be native to the queen’s english, but “defensive” on it’s own is perfectly at home.
To all but the compilers of the OED.
They’re an ultraconservative lot, like Dublin University (better known as Trinity College, Dublin), which uses the spelling “honors” for degrees awarded with distinction.
Hmmm. I once came very close to getting a job there. You might think that makes a lot of sense until you notice that on another thread I seem to be slightly to the left of Dick Gaughan.
It’s all mighty confusing sometimes.
eh?
I’m sure you would have met lots of left-wing conservatives there.