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.
Escobedo disagreed, saying that the previous attorneys “performed well above the standard of a reasonably competent attorney” given Halem’s insistence on a speedy trial — a risky gambit in any criminal case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Danny Leigh of the Financial Times awarded the film three stars, external, praising the chemistry between Holland and Zendaya but criticising the film's insistence on falling back on CGI-heavy action sequences.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
It is the insistence that public safety be judged by the people who must live with its consequences.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
It was that kind of insistence on dominance that eventually blew the alliance apart in the 1960s, a rupture that took decades to repair and handed Washington enormous strategic advantage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
He’s whispering, but his voice is harsh with insistence.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
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.
