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resistible

American  
[ri-zis-tuh-buhl] / rɪˈzɪs tə bəl /

adjective

  1. that can be resisted.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of resistible

First recorded in 1635–45; resist + -ible

Explanation

If you're not charmed by or interested in an artist's work, you can describe it as resistible. In other words, you find it easy to resist. You might find a used car salesman's style to be completely resistible, and leave the car lot without spending a dime. Or you could explain that you find the death metal genre of music to be resistible when your friend asks why you won't go to a concert with him. Irresistible is more commonly used than resistible, but both words stem from the Latin resistere, "to resist or withstand," from re, "against," and sistere, "take a stand."

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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.

See Examples For:

Unfortunately, the resulting film, Joker: Folie à Deux, was something audiences found entirely resistible.

From BBC Dec. 25, 2024

She won’t be able to shake them so easily; her premises aren’t resistible enough.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 2, 2021

None of my bosses was the leader of the free world; they were very resistible.

From The Guardian Feb. 21, 2016

But memoir is perhaps the one genre that is resistant to a resistible personality.

From New York Times Aug. 5, 2011

Internally, the important institutional decisions seem to have been made by a process of accommodation and adaptation, with resistible forces always meeting movable objects.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

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