The phrase "defy perception" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when discussing concepts, actions, or phenomena that challenge or contradict how something is typically understood or viewed.
Example: "The artist's work seems to defy perception, leaving viewers questioning their own interpretations."
Alternatives: "challenge understanding" or "contradict views".
Seeing this contentious lollipop issue as an opportunity to defy public perception, Christie has asked that he be rewarded with a sticker or small toy instead of a snack.
Our findings may defy the perception that performing TKA in osteoarthritic patients with less radiographic severity results in inferior postoperative outcomes.
There are folks who say they want to sit it out - and to those I say, the only way to shape policy, defy national perception of who is 'American,' to check politicians who 'other' us for lazy political expediency, is a wave of Latinos and allies to participate at the polls".
It is as if people are already starting to see their city crumble ever so slightly -- even when statistics defy their perceptions -- because they finally believe government when it says that it is out of money.
The article, written by Mark Leibovich, recounts various elements of Gibb's communications strategy during the campaign that seem to defy common perceptions.
Thom Yorke's choice to release music through a tech platform well-known for its uses for illegal file sharing is part trust fall into his fans' arms, part invitation to an audience to defy mass perceptions of BitTorrent's purposes.
She also defies the perception that gifted musicians lack business acumen by managing her own career successfully.
He promises to defy the widespread perception that the former so-called bridge to Mariano Rivera is now on a career path to nowhere.
Did his piano sound, as mine does, out of tune, as though it had been prepared by John Cage to defy all previous perceptions of what a piano should sound like?
Behind the new efforts by the Romney campaign to soften his conservative edges and showcase his personal story was a realization by his political team — borne out by reactions to his performance at the debate — that with the economy showing improvement their best shot at victory is to aggressively defy the negative perceptions that have dogged him throughout the race.
