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instance

[in-stuhns]

Example Sentences Origin

noun

a case or occurrence of anything: fresh instances of oppression.

an example put forth in proof or illustration: to cite a few instances.

Law. the institution and prosecution of a case.

Archaic. urgency in speech or action.

Obsolete. an impelling motive.

verb (used with object)

to cite as an instance or example.

to exemplify by an instance.

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Instance is always a great word to know.

So is mandatory. Does it mean:

permitting no option, not to be disregarded or modified

a formal and specific claim by a plaintiff for damages

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verb (used without object)

to cite an instance.

Idioms

at the instance of, at the urging or suggestion of: He applied for the assistantship at the instance of his professor.

10.

for instance, as an example; for example: If you were to go to Italy, for instance, you would get a different perspective on our culture.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English < Latin instantia presence, urgency (Medieval Latin: case, example). See instant, -ance

Related forms

coun·ter·in·stance, noun

un·in·stanced, adjective

Synonyms
2. See case¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To instance

Example Sentences

Indiana was unable to cite a single instance of actual voter impersonation at any point in its history.

But others said that there was no conspiracy to unearth, and that the case represented merely a unique instance of bad judgment.

Still, there can be awkward lulls-between two text messages, for instance.

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Indiana was unable to cite a single instance of actual voter impersonation at any point in its history.

But others said that there was no conspiracy to unearth, and that the case represented merely a unique instance of bad judgment.

Still, there can be awkward lulls-between two text messages, for instance.

Farm-based energy can save money and even become a new source of income by powering nearby homes, for instance.

The designer of a videocam has quite a bit of freedom, for instance.

Studies have shown that exposure to sarcasm enhances creative problem solving, for instance.

It would be great for growing herbs or lettuces on a balcony, for instance.

Note: a comic remains in the library until the last instance is deleted.

Sometimes sacrificing a piece is painful but ultimately may win the game, for instance.

Handing out machetes for instance or writing a book about his campaign.

GM trees could be designed so that they ease paper processing, for instance.

The debate has been discussed in the context of dinosaur genera, for instance.

Still, it could be useful one day, for instance in new types of optical switches for computers.

Three houses and a store were entered last night, and in every instance the thief escaped.

In every instance where scientists have set up equipment to record these events nothing has happened.

Here's an instance where storebought is better than homemade.

Let me now give you an instance of wonderful heroism, rising to meet the demands of a sudden crisis.

Keith, some of the places you list seem pretty far to go in three days-Honduras, for instance.

For instance people being tested, for the body to respond to drugs such as antibiotics.

Another instance of too much information dispensed to a sound bite society.

In one instance the station agent and telegraph operator were killed.

Anne can easily recall one instance of using a basic geographic tool and realizing its power.

Almost anything with aromatic leaves, such as rosemary or santolina, for instance.

Permit me to add another instance of official disregard for law by spitting policemen.

Holford for u25,000 is only one more instance of the process by which the.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

instance (ˈɪnstəns)

—n
1.	a case or particular example
2.	for instance for or as an example
3.	a specified stage in proceedings; step (in the phrases in the first, second, etc, instance)
4.	urgent request or demand (esp in the phrase at the instance of)
5.	logic
	a. an expression derived from another by instantiation
	b. See substitution
6.	archaic motive or reason

—vb
7.	to cite as an example

[C14 (in the sense: case, example): from Medieval Latin instantia example, (in the sense: urgency) from Latin: a being close upon, presence, from instāns pressing upon, urgent; see instant]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

instance

mid-14c., "urgency," from O.Fr. instance "eagerness, anxiety, solicitation," from L. instantia "presence, earnestness, urgency," lit. "a standing near," from instans (see instant). In Scholastic logic, "a fact or example" (1580s), from M.L. instantia, used to translate Gk.

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enstasis. This led to use in phrase for instance "as an example" (1650s), and the noun phrase To give (someone) a for instance (1959, Amer.Eng.).

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FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

instance definition

programming
An individual object of a certain class. While a class is just the type definition, an actual usage of a class is called "instance". Each instance of a class can have different values for its instance variables, i.e. its state.
(1998-03-06)

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

instance

see under for example.

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