resistance
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. Abbreviation: 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.
Origin of resistance
1Other words for resistance
Other words from resistance
- in·ter·re·sist·ance, noun
Words Nearby resistance
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use resistance in a sentence
The obvious news-you-can-use nugget from the new study is the apparent protective effect of resistance training.
Although unlikely, organisms in the gut could integrate those genes into their own DNA and, as a result, proliferate antibiotic resistance, making it more difficult to fight off bacterial diseases.
Biotechnology Could Change the Cattle Industry. Will It Succeed? | Dyllan Furness | August 16, 2020 | Singularity HubThis ranged from subtle to overt opposition, and sometimes violent resistance.
How Igbo women activists influenced British authorities during the colonial rule of Nigeria | Bright Alozie | August 7, 2020 | QuartzIt's kind of a push and pull between this is a routine but y'all also kinda get to choose what you're doing when because I get the least resistance by doing that, and they get everything done.
Then, Vaelli says, the pressure would be back on snakes to evolve greater resistance to the toxin.
Toxic germs on its skin make this newt deadly | Erin Garcia de Jesus | June 23, 2020 | Science News For Students
But that makes the Ismael brothers no less proud of the resistance that they and other fellow fighters have put up.
In the future, antibiotic resistance could have catastrophic consequences.
Without Education, Antibiotic Resistance Will Be Our Greatest Health Crisis | Russell Saunders | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere would, then, likely be significant police resistance to this measure.
How the U.S. Justice System Screws Prisoners with Disabilities | Elizabeth Picciuto | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is this very sensitive issue that has galvanized widespread resistance from previously loyal campesinos.
China’s Nicaragua Canal Could Spark a New Central America Revolution | Nina Lakhani | November 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTConservative Muslim women in Turkey hailed Esme as a martyr and a symbol of female strength and resistance.
Allah, Mom, and Baklava: Turkish President Uses Mothers and Kids as Political Pawns | Xanthe Ackerman | November 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere is cause for alarm when they bring one hundred and ten ships into these seas without any means of resistance on our part.
A double detachment of soldiers was already there, with orders to support him in case of resistance.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterA mild degree means that the body is not reacting well, or else that the infection is too slight to call forth much resistance.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddThis stubborn resistance lent all the more lustre to the piety of our benignant Rulers.
His voice grated—like machinery started with violent effort against resistance.
The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
British Dictionary definitions for resistance (1 of 2)
/ (rɪˈzɪstəns) /
the act or an instance of resisting
the capacity to withstand something, esp the body's natural capacity to withstand disease
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: Symbol: R Compare reactance (def. 1)
(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
line of least resistance the easiest, but not necessarily the best or most honourable, course of action
British Dictionary definitions for Resistance (2 of 2)
/ (rɪˈzɪstəns) /
the Resistance an illegal organization fighting for national liberty in a country under enemy occupation, esp in France during World War II
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for resistance
[ rĭ-zĭs′təns ]
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for resistance
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with resistance
see least resistance.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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