Library / English Dictionary

RESIST

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Withstand the force of something

Example:

The mountain climbers had to fend against the ice and snow

Synonyms:

fend; resist; stand

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "resist" is one way to...):

defend; fight; fight back; fight down; oppose (fight against or resist strongly)

Verb group:

remain firm; stand (hold one's ground; maintain a position; be steadfast or upright)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

resistant (incapable of absorbing or mixing with)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something

Synonyms:

hold out; resist; stand firm; withstand

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "resist" is one way to...):

defend; fight; fight back; fight down; oppose (fight against or resist strongly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "resist"):

stand out (be stubborn in resolution or resistance)

stand up (refuse to back down; remain solid under criticism or attack)

outbrave (resist bravely)

hold off (resist and fight to a standoff)

remain firm; stand (hold one's ground; maintain a position; be steadfast or upright)

defy; hold; hold up; withstand (resist or confront with resistance)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Antonym:

surrender (give up or agree to forgo to the power or possession of another)

Derivation:

resistance (the military action of resisting the enemy's advance)

resistant; resistive (disposed to or engaged in defiance of established authority)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Express opposition through action or words

Example:

dissent to the laws of the country

Synonyms:

dissent; protest; resist

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "resist" is one way to...):

contradict; controvert; oppose (be resistant to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "resist"):

strike; walk out (stop work in order to press demands)

demonstrate; march (march in protest; take part in a demonstration)

arise; rebel; rise; rise up (take part in a rebellion; renounce a former allegiance)

rebel; renegade (break with established customs)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

resistant; resistive (disposed to or engaged in defiance of established authority)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Refuse to comply

Synonyms:

balk; baulk; jib; resist

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "resist" is one way to...):

disobey (refuse to go along with; refuse to follow; be disobedient)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

They resist moving

Derivation:

resistance (group action in opposition to those in power)

resistant (disposed to or engaged in defiance of established authority)

resister (someone who offers opposition)

resister (someone who systematically obstructs some action that others want to take)

resistive (disposed to or engaged in defiance of established authority)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Elude, especially in a baffling way

Example:

This behavior defies explanation

Synonyms:

defy; refuse; resist

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "resist" is one way to...):

elude; escape (be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "resist"):

beggar (be beyond the resources of)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ

Example:

His body rejected the liver of the donor

Synonyms:

refuse; reject; resist

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "resist" is one way to...):

react; respond (show a response or a reaction to something)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

resistant (relating to or conferring immunity (to disease or infection))

Credits

 Context examples: 

She could feel her last strength going, and the barrel resisted her.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

It was in vain that she protested and resisted.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Is there anyone who will be able to resist your charms? I don’t think so!

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

White Fang trembled with fear, and though the impulse came to crawl out of his hiding-place, he resisted it.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

After resisting for some time, she yielded to the impulse, and armed with a book to return, went over to the big house.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Of what materials was I made that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture?

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The natural or acquired ability of an organism to maintain its immunity to or to resist the effects of a cancer causing agent.

(Carcinogen Resistance, NCI Thesaurus)

A category of psychiatric disorders whose essential features are the failure to resist an impulse to perform an act that is harmful to the individual or to others.

(Impulse-Control Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

A device that lacks adequate immunity or capabilities to resist electromagnetic interference (EMI).

(Inadequate Device Immunity Problem Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)

Cause to be firmly attached; stick or hold together and resist separation.

(Fix, NCI Thesaurus)