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.
But after pandemic lockdowns, Americans have grown more wary of the state’s insistence that certain security measures are necessary to keep them safe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Those comments effectively confirmed that, despite Atletico's insistence that he was not for sale, the player himself was open to leaving and Barcelona and Paris St-Germain were among the clubs reportedly interested.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Cretton’s insistence on real locations has an argument behind it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
It is the insistence that public safety be judged by the people who must live with its consequences.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
But that’s exactly what brought on this letter—much more than Bessie’s insistence that I write to you about Ph.D.s and acting.
From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger
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.
