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resistance

resistance

412 5.5
Armed action by a group against an enemy or occupying force
  • noun
  • /rɪˈzɪstəns/
translation icon : resistencia
  • But this level of colonial resistance to the British was a surprise.
  • armed resistance
  • a resistance movement
  • resistance groups

Negrin is insistent that resistance must continue at all costs.

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Examples

  • She's betrayed the resistance and must be considered a threat.

  • Citizens of America, we are now closer than ever to a historic victory as we eliminate the final pockets of resistance.

  • Or learn about the secret student resistance known as the White Rose.

  • Perhaps in this campaign they were met with resistance by land or by water.

  • What kind of resistance group are these guys all a part of?

  • There is a small resistance movement.

  • Both put up determined resistance but were taken by winter.

  • My camp was liberated by the Resistance.

  • Starting in 2009, strong grassroots resistance has been mounting against the growing "crimmigration" system.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The Polish Home Army was the largest resistance movement of World War II.

Synonyms

opposition
vsresistance
250 3.4

The act of resisting an idea, plan, or change

is more specific, referring to organized military or covert groups
uprising
vsresistance
150 5.1

A group of people who rise up and use force to oppose the government

is more general, applying to both single acts and long campaigns
rebellion
vsresistance
128 4.1

A group of people who use weapons to fight the government

is the general term for any organized fight or secret group
revolt
vsresistance
73 4.6

A violent attempt to remove a government or ruler

is broader, also covering long covert campaigns
insurgency
vsresistance
  • Literature
54 8.4

A planned action by a group, often using weapons or secret actions, to take control from the government

is broader, covering both open fighting and secret groups
underground
vsresistance
9 7.9

A secret group that tries to resist or overthrow a government

is broader, covering public armed movements as well
guerrilla force
vsresistance
2 6.5

A group of armed fighters who use sudden attacks against a larger army in rural areas

is wider, covering any organized military or covert group
revolutionary group
vsresistance
1 5.1

A group of people who try to change or remove a government by force

is broader, including armed forces and covert opposition groups
insurgence
vsresistance
  • Literature
1 8.7

An organized group fighting against the government, often using weapons

is wider, including covert cells and public military action

Antonyms

150 4.0

Working together with others to reach a shared goal

77 4.2

Giving up after defeat, for example when an army stops fighting

Compounds

7 3.9

The easiest choice that avoids difficulty or conflict

least resistance
  • Informal
4 4.2

A way of doing something that tries to avoid effort or a fight

A way to act against authority without violence, for example by refusing to cooperate

A way of opposing a government without using violence, for example by refusing to obey laws

electrical resistance
  • Specialized
1 3.9

The amount a material stops or slows the flow of electric current

A Palestinian political and armed group called Hamas that fights Israel and seeks to replace it with an Islamic state

People not wanting to buy because salespeople are pushy

thermal resistance
  • Specialized
1 5.8

How well a material stops heat moving through it

electric resistance
  • Specialized
3.7

How much a material stops electric current from flowing

acoustic resistance
  • Specialized
7.6

How much a material like a wall stops sound passing through it

A Spanish armed group that tried to overthrow the government to make a communist state

An easy choice that avoids trouble or argument

A Ugandan rebel group that kidnaps children and attacks civilians

resistance pyrometer
  • Specialized
8.4

A device that measures very high temperatures by watching how electricity in a hot wire changes

6.8

A tool that measures temperature by how easily electricity passes through a metal wire

resistance unit
  • Specialized
5.2

A measure of how much a part in an electrical circuit stops the flow of electricity, for example the ohm

resistance furnace
  • Specialized
7.6

A machine that heats things by passing electricity through a metal wire

ohmic resistance
  • Specialized
5.4

How much a material stops electric current while voltage and current change together

How Strong

revolution
810 4.1
insurgency
  • Literature
54 8.4
rebellion
128 4.1
resistance
412 5.5
protest
578 2.5

Surface Forms

resistance singular
resistances plural

Morphology

resistance = resist (transparent) = resist + ance

The sense 'organized opposition' is a straightforward nominalization of 'resist' describing the act or collective practice of resisting.

Etymology

Resistance comes from the Latin parts re- 'back' and sistere 'to stand', which gives the image of people who 'stand against' an enemy, so a resistance group is a band that fights or opposes an occupier.