What does resisting mean?
Resisting means refusing to yield to pressure, force, temptation, authority, or opposition. It can describe an ongoing action, as in someone resisting an impulse or a group resisting an attempted takeover, and it can also function as an adjective before a noun, as in “resisting forces.” The word often conveys determination and firm opposition, but its connotation depends on context: resistance to temptation may suggest self-control, while resistance to an official order may sound confrontational or legally significant. Related forms include resist, resistant, and resistance. Because resisting comes from the Latin root for standing back or standing against, it has long been associated with holding a position and refusing to be overcome. The word remains useful in both everyday and formal English for describing active opposition to a force, influence, or attempted control.
To refuse to give way to force, pressure, temptation, or opposition; to oppose or withstand something.
"The workers continued resisting demands for longer hours."
Usually describes an action in progress. In “resisting arrest,” it has a recognized legal sense of refusing to submit to lawful custody.
That resists or actively opposes something.
"The resisting forces held their ground throughout the night."
Most often used attributively, especially in the phrase “resisting forces.”
The “-sist-” in resisting comes from a Latin root meaning “to stand,” so the word literally evokes standing firm against pressure.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does resisting come from?
Resisting is the present participle of resist, and both forms descend from Latin resistere, meaning “to stand back” or “to resist.” The Latin word combines re-, meaning “back” or “against,” with sistere, meaning “to stand.” Related English words, including resistance, resistant, and irresistible, preserve the same idea of standing firm against something; insist, persist, and assist belong to cognate roots involving standing or pressing forward.
Related word forms
How resisting is actually used
As a verb form, resisting is commonly used for an action in progress, especially with pressure, temptation, authority, or control. In legal contexts, “resisting arrest” has a specific established meaning. As an adjective, it is usually attributive, as in “resisting forces,” and is less common as a predicate adjective.
Easily confused with resisting
Resisting describes an active effort to oppose or withstand something, whereas resistant describes a person, material, or force that has the capacity or tendency to resist.