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resistance - 10 dictionary results

re⋅sist⋅ance

  [ri-zis-tuhns]
Use resistance in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding.
2. the opposition offered by one thing, force, etc., to another.
3. Electricity.
a. Also called ohmic resistance. a property of a conductor by virtue of which the passage of current is opposed, causing electric energy to be transformed into heat: equal to the voltage across the conductor divided by the current flowing in the conductor: usually measured in ohms. Abbreviation: R
b. a conductor or coil offering such opposition; resistor.
4. Psychiatry. opposition to an attempt to bring repressed thoughts or feelings into consciousness.
5. (often initial capital letter) an underground organization composed of groups of private individuals working as an opposition force in a conquered country to overthrow the occupying power, usually by acts of sabotage, guerrilla warfare, etc.: the resistance during the German occupation in World War II.
6. Stock Exchange. resistance level.
Origin:
1300–50; ME < MF. See resist, -ance

Synonyms:
1. opposition, obstinacy, defiance, intransigence.

resistance level

 
–noun Stock Exchange.
a point at which the rise in price of a specific stock is arrested due to more substantial selling than buying.
Also called resistance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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re·sis·tance   (rĭ-zĭs'təns)   
n.  
  1. The act or an instance of resisting or the capacity to resist.
  2. A force that tends to oppose or retard motion.
  3. often Resistance An underground organization engaged in a struggle for national liberation in a country under military or totalitarian occupation.
  4. Psychology A process in which the ego opposes the conscious recall of anxiety-producing experiences.
  5. Biology
    1. The capacity of an organism to defend itself against a disease.
    2. The capacity of an organism or a tissue to withstand the effects of a harmful environmental agent.
  6. Electricity The opposition of a body or substance to current passing through it, resulting in a change of electrical energy into heat or another form of energy.
re·sis'tant adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Resistance

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : resistance
Spanish: resistencia,
German: der Widerstand; Widerstands-…,
Japanese: 抵抗
More Translations »

resistance

In electricity, a measurement of the difficulty encountered by a power source in forcing electric current through an electrical circuit, and hence the amount of power dissipated in the circuit. Resistance is measured in ohms.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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resistance

An increased supply of a security. Compare support.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Main Entry: re·sis·tance
Pronunciation: ri-'zis-t&n(t)s
Function: noun
1 a : power or capacity to resist; especially : the inherent ability of an organism to resist harmful influences (as disease, toxic agents, or infection) b : the capacity of a species or strain of microorganism to surviveexposure to a toxic agent (as a drug) formerly effective against it due to genetic mutation and selection for and accumulation of genes conferring protection from the agent especially as a result ofoveruse of the agent which selectively destroys individual microorganisms lacking the protective genes
2 : the opposition offered by a body to the passage through it of a steadyelectric current
3 : a psychological defense mechanism wherein a psychoanalysis patient rejects, denies, or otherwise opposes therapeutic efforts by the analyst
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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resistance re·sis·tance (rĭ-zĭs'təns)
n.

  1. The capacity of an organism to defend itself against a disease.
  2. The capacity of an organism, a tissue, or a cell to withstand the effects of a harmful physical or environmental agent.
  3. The opposition of a body or substance to current passing through it, resulting in a change of electrical energy into heat or another form of energy.
  4. In psychoanalysis, a process in which the ego opposes the conscious recall of repressed unpleasant experiences.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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resistance   (rĭ-zĭs'təns)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A force, such as friction, that operates opposite the direction of motion of a body and tends to prevent or slow down the body's motion.
  2. A measure of the degree to which a substance impedes the flow of electric current induced by a voltage. Resistance is measured in ohms. Good conductors, such as copper, have low resistance. Good insulators, such as rubber, have high resistance. Resistance causes electrical energy to be dissipated as heat. See also Ohm's law.
  3. The capacity of an organism, tissue, or cell to withstand the effects of a harmful physical or environmental agent, such as a microorganism or pollutant.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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resistance

see least resistance.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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