Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To take action in opposition to; try to eliminate, reduce, or stop: synonym: oppose.
  • intransitive verb To take action to defeat or thwart (an invading or occupying military force).
  • intransitive verb To remain unaltered, undamaged, or unaffected by; withstand.
  • intransitive verb To provide resistance to (an electrical current).
  • intransitive verb To keep from giving in to, engaging in, or enjoying.
  • intransitive verb To offer resistance.
  • noun A substance that can cover and protect a surface, as from corrosion.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To withstand; oppose passively or actively; antagonize; act against; exert physical or moral force in opposition to.
  • To be disagreeable or distasteful to; offend.
  • Synonyms Withstand, etc. See oppose.
  • To make opposition; act in opposition.
  • noun Any composition applied to a surface to protect it from chemical action, as to enable it to resist the corrosion of acids, etc.
  • noun Specifically, in calico-printing, a sort of paste applied to a fabric to prevent color or mordant from fixing on those parts not intended to be colored, either by acting mechanically in preventing the color, etc., from reaching the cloth, or chemically in changing the color so as to render it incapable of fixing itself in the fibers. Also called resist-paste, resistant, and reserve.
  • noun A stopping-out; also, the material used for stopping out.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To make opposition.
  • transitive verb To stand against; to withstand; to obstruct.
  • transitive verb To strive against; to endeavor to counteract, defeat, or frustrate; to act in opposition to; to oppose.
  • transitive verb To counteract, as a force, by inertia or reaction.
  • transitive verb obsolete To be distasteful to.
  • noun (Calico Printing) A substance used to prevent a color or mordant from fixing on those parts to which it has been applied, either by acting machanically in preventing the color, etc., from reaching the cloth, or chemically in changing the color so as to render it incapable of fixing itself in the fibers; -- also called reserve. The pastes prepared for this purpose are called resist pastes.
  • noun (Technology) Something that resists or prevents a certain action

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To attempt to counter the actions or effects of.
  • verb transitive To withstand the actions of.
  • verb intransitive To oppose.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb resist immunologically the introduction of some foreign tissue or organ
  • verb express opposition through action or words
  • verb refuse to comply
  • verb elude, especially in a baffling way
  • verb withstand the force of something
  • verb stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English resisten, from Old French resister, from Latin resistere : re-, re- + sistere, to place; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Anglo-Norman resistre, Middle French resister, and their source, Latin resistere, from re- + sistere ("cause to stand").

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Examples

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  • In glassmaking, a noun referring to a substance that resists or prevents a particular action. During the process of acid etching or sandblasting, parts of the surface are protected with a resist.

    November 9, 2007