the act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding.
the opposition offered by one thing, force, etc., to another.
Electricity.
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. R
a conductor or coil offering such opposition; resistor.
Psychiatry. opposition to an attempt to bring repressed thoughts or feelings into consciousness.
(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.
Stock Exchange. resistance level.
the act or an instance of resisting
the capacity to withstand something, esp the body's natural capacity to withstand disease
R. the opposition to a flow of electric current through a circuit component, medium, or substance. It is the magnitude of the real part of the impedance and is measured in ohms Compare reactance
( as modifier )
resistance coupling
a resistance thermometer
any force that tends to retard or oppose motion
air resistance
wind resistance
(in psychoanalytical theory) the tendency of a person to prevent the translation of repressed thoughts and ideas from the unconscious to the conscious and esp to resist the analyst's attempt to bring this about
physics the magnitude of the real part of the acoustic or mechanical impedance
the easiest, but not necessarily the best or most honourable, course of action
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.
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
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.
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French; equivalent to resist + -ance
If you've ever seen a dog on a leash suddenly refuse to walk any farther, you know how much resistance one little pet can put up. Resistance means "refusal to comply with or accept something." An individual person can put up resistance against something she disagrees with or doesn't want to participate in. On a larger scale, groups of people and even whole countries can display resistance, like when the British put up resistance against Napoleon. Another meaning of resistance is "the ability not to be affected by," like a resistance to getting colds, which you can imagine as your immune system putting up a fierce resistance against invading germs.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At the Zurbatiyah crossing, large fans sprayed mist to cool the heat as pilgrims passed portraits of Khamenei, his son and successor Mujtaba, and other slain commanders from Iran's so-called "axis of resistance."
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
That decision, pushed by then-CEO Jim Hackett, met resistance internally from engineers and designers at the company, according to people familiar with discussions at the time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
As the scientists increased the frequency of collisions between the atoms, resistance initially rose.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
And how long before the independent report, in the face of resistance from the most powerful clubs in the land, is quietly forgotten about?
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
The gravest issues seem to have occurred among the partisans, the guerrilla resistance fighters on the German-occupied side of the front lines.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
The episodes follow both the crew of a U-boat submarine and the Resistance fight on land.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Resistance training can further strengthen bones and muscles.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026
Such a message would have particular importance for Hezbollah, Iraqi militias and other members of Iran's regional network known as the "Axis of Resistance".
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
Resistance has taken many forms, from the Whiskey Rebellion of the 1790s to Thoreau’s refusal to pay taxes on moral grounds to the 1,400 elected officials who have signed Grover Norquist’s antitax pledge.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026
My parents were betrayed from within the Resistance.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
The most powerful ones have to be used as rarely as possible, to give bacteria fewer opportunities to develop resistances.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2024
Driven by the overuse of antimicrobials, pathogens are quickly building up resistances to once-successful treatments.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 24, 2024
In the 1940's and '50's, when humans first began taking antibiotics, the resistances were already in the environment and worked their way into the bacteria that cause human infection.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 29, 2024
Over time, populations within any species of bacteria emerge with one, then two or more resistances to antibiotics, until we get potentially untreatable super strains.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2023
That something seemed to have rules and resistances of its own, ones that did not stem from me.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
