to withstand, strive against, or oppose: to resist infection; to resist temptation.
2.
to withstand the action or effect of: to resist spoilage.
3.
to refrain or abstain from, esp. with difficulty or reluctance: They couldn't resist the chocolates.
–verb (used without object)
4.
to make a stand or make efforts in opposition; act in opposition; offer resistance.
–noun
5.
a substance that prevents or inhibits some effect from taking place, as a coating on a surface of a metallic printing plate that prevents or inhibits corrosion of the metal by acid.
6.
Textiles. a chemically inert substance used in resist printing.
[Origin: 1325–75; ME resisten (v.) < L resistere to remain standing, equiv. to re-re-+ sistere to cause to stand, akin to stāre to stand]
—Related forms
re·sist·er, noun
re·sist·ing·ly, adverb
—Synonyms 1. confront, counteract, rebuff. See oppose.
c.1374, from O.Fr. resister, from L. resistere "to resist, to stand back, withstand," from re- "against" + sistere "take a stand, stand firm" (see assist). Resistance is attested from 1417, from O.Fr. resistence, from L.L. resistentia, from L. resistentem (nom. resistens), prp. of resistere. Sense of "organized covert opposition to an occupying power" first recorded 1940 in reference to Fr. opposition to Nazi rule. Since applied to similar organizations (e.g. anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan, 1980s). Electromagnetic sense is from 1860.
Re*sist"\, n. (Technical) Something that resists or prevents a certain action; specif.: A substance applied to a surface, as of metal, to prevent the action on it of acid or other chemical agent.
Re*sist"\ (r?-z?st"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Resisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Resisting.] [F. r['e]sister, L. resistere, pref. re- re- + sistere to stand, cause to stand, v. causative of stare to stand. See Stand.]1. To stand against; to withstand; to obstruct. That mortal dint, Save He who reigns above, none can resist. --Milton. 2. To strive against; to endeavor to counteract, defeat, or frustrate; to act in opposition to; to oppose. God resisteth the proud. --James iv. 6. Contrary to his high will Whom we resist. --Milton. 3. To counteract, as a force, by inertia or reaction. 4. To be distasteful to. [Obs.] --Shak. Syn: To withstand; oppose; hinder; obstruct; counteract; check; thwart; baffle; disappoint.
Re*sist"\, n. (Calico Printing) A substance used to prevent a color or mordant from fixing on those parts to which it has been applied, either by acting machanically in preventing the color, etc., from reaching the cloth, or chemically in changing the color so as to render it incapable of fixing itself in the fibers.. The pastes prepared for this purpose are called resist pastes. --F. C. Calvert.
Re*sist"ance\ (-ans), n. [F. r['e]sistance, LL. resistentia, fr. resistens, - entis, p. pr. See Resist.]1. The act of resisting; opposition, passive or active. When King Demetrius saw that . . . no resistance was made against him, he sent away all his forces. --1. Macc. xi. 38. 2. (Physics) The quality of not yielding to force or external pressure; that power of a body which acts in opposition to the impulse or pressure of another, or which prevents the effect of another power; as, the resistance of the air to a body passing through it; the resistance of a target to projectiles. 3. A means or method of resisting; that which resists. Unfold to us some warlike resistance. --Shak. 4. (Elec.) A certain hindrance or opposition to the passage of an electrical current or discharge offered by conducting bodies. It bears an inverse relation to the conductivity, -- good conductors having a small resistance, while poor conductors or insulators have a very high resistance. The unit of resistance is the ohm. Resistance box (Elec.), a rheostat consisting of a box or case containing a number of resistance coils of standard values so arranged that they can be combined in various ways to afford more or less resistance. Resistance coil (Elec.), a coil of wire introduced into an electric circuit to increase the resistance. Solid of least resistance (Mech.), a solid of such a form as to experience, in moving in a fluid, less resistance than any other solid having the same base, height, and volume.
Re*sist"ant\ (-ant), a. [F. r['e]sistant: cf. L. resistens. See Resist.] Making resistance; resisting. -- n. One who, or that which, resists. --Bp. Pearson.
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