Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of insistence
Explanation
Insistence is when someone persists in forcefully asking for or requiring something. A parent's insistence might be the only reason an unmotivated teenager sits down and does his homework. A store manager's insistence on selling things for the lowest prices might be the thing that keeps customers coming back, and your insistence on reading your speech first in class might get you to the front of the line. When you insist on something, you demand it — both words come from the Latin insistere, "persist, dwell upon, or stand upon," from in-, "upon," and sistere, "take a stand."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Guzzo said that Kennedy’s comments reflect an insistence on finding a physiological reason for population decline, despite there being no evidence for that.
From Salon • May 15, 2026
British government debt fell sharply on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s insistence he will stay in office doing little to quell speculation he could face a leadership challenge.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
His party Pheu Thai's insistence that from now on he will remain in the background could not stop feverish media speculation over what role he might still play in Thai politics.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
But despite his insistence that their shared directing credit will list her name above his and larger, at the end his name is ranked over hers in exactly the same font.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
One of my sisters—despite my insistence that everything be kept secret—told one of her friends that “her brother would soon be going to America,” and soon all Alexandra knew.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
