resistant
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
characterized by or showing resistance; resisting
-
-
impervious to the action of corrosive substances, heat, etc
a highly resistant surface
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( in combination )
a heat-resistant surface
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noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of resistant
1590–1600; < Middle French resistant, present participle of resister to resist; see -ant
Explanation
Being resistant means to be immune or impervious to something. A vest that's resistant to bullets is bullet-proof. Anything resistant has a certain power — specifically, the power to resist or fight off — something else. This word is often used medically, like when someone is resistant to a virus: that means they can't get the virus. You can also be resistant to someone's jokes, meaning they can't make you laugh. A raincoat should be resistant to water. If it's not resistant, that's a pretty bad raincoat. All resistant things are like a shield that something can't get through.
Vocabulary lists containing resistant
"Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson
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Content Summary 4.2: Columbian Exchange and Atlantic Slavery
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"Roller Girl" by Victoria Jamieson
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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.
And yet I found myself strangely apathetic and at times resistant to participating in any of the hoopla around the Shannon/Narducy ensemble.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
Claire Brosseau, a woman with treatment resistant bipolar 1 disorder who is part of the federal case challenging Canada's current laws, told the BBC earlier this year that euthanasia would offer her "a safe death".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
AI-driven growth looks resistant to higher borrowing costs, spooking Treasury investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
"In the case of lung cancer cells that were already resistant to osimertinib, adding CS18 restored the cells' sensitivity to osimertinib, increasing cancer cell death," Lin said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
An unknown but very large acreage of timber-producing lands is now aerially sprayed in order to “weed out” the hardwoods from the more spray- resistant conifers.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
