The basic resistance meaning is pushing back against something: refusing to accept it, fighting it, or simply slowing it down. A child who refuses to put on a raincoat is showing resistance, and so is a heavy door that is hard to open.
What makes the word interesting is how far it travels. The same noun turns up in a physics class, a doctor's report, a gym plan, a history book and an office meeting about a new software system. In each place the idea is the same: something meets a force and does not simply give way.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Opposition to a force, change or attackPart of speech
Noun (from the verb resist)Pronunciation
ri-ZIS-tuhnsWord forms
resist, resistant, resistor, irresistibleOrigin
Latin resistere, from re- (against) and sistere (to stand), through FrenchOpposite
acceptance, compliance, surrender, yieldingRegister
Neutral; also a technical term in science
The resistance meaning in its main senses
Puzzled about what is the meaning of resistance in a line you just read? Match it to one of these five senses:
- Refusal or opposition. People pushing back against a plan, rule or idea. The new attendance policy met strong resistance from students.
- A force that slows movement. Air, water or friction working against something that moves. Cyclists bend low to cut wind resistance.
- Electrical resistance. How much a material opposes the flow of electric current. It is measured in ohms.
- The body's ability to fight off harm. Resistance to infection, or bacteria that have become resistant to a medicine.
- An organised underground movement. A group fighting an occupying power, often written with a capital R when it names a specific historical group.
Resistance in everyday sentences
- My knee gives no resistance on flat roads but aches on the stairs.
- The manager expected some resistance when she moved the team meeting to eight in the morning.
- Use a resistance band for these shoulder exercises if you have no weights at home.
- After years of hard water, the old heater coil had lost its resistance and stopped warming properly.
- He took the path of least resistance and ordered whatever everyone else was having.
Resistance definition in science
In physics, the resistance definition is the opposition a material offers to electric current. Copper wire has low resistance, so current moves through it easily; rubber has very high resistance, which is why it wraps cables. The unit is the ohm, named after the German physicist Georg Ohm, and its symbol is the Greek letter omega (Ω).
A simple rule links three values: voltage equals current multiplied by resistance (V = I × R). Raise the resistance while keeping the voltage the same and less current flows. A small part built to add a set amount of resistance to a circuit is called a resistor. For a related idea about how tightly matter is packed, see density.
Resistance in health, fitness and money
Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria change so that a medicine no longer kills them. Insulin resistance means the body's cells respond weakly to insulin. Resistance training is exercise where muscles work against weight, bands or body weight.
On stock charts, a resistance level is a price zone where a rising share has stalled before, as sellers tend to appear there. Traders watch it, but it is a pattern, not a promise.
Using resist, resistant and resistance
The verb is resist: She resisted the urge to reply. The adjective is resistant, usually followed by to: resistant to change, water resistant, heat resistant. The noun takes to as well: resistance to the merger.
Common pairings include meet resistance, face resistance, put up resistance, offer no resistance, overcome resistance and build up resistance. Something you cannot refuse is irresistible, a word people use for desserts and offers more often than for physics. For other common words with several jobs, browse our everyday word list.
Roots of resistance: standing against
English took resistance from French, which built it on the Latin verb resistere. That Latin verb joins re-, meaning back or against, with sistere, to stand or to cause to stand. So the image underneath every sense is someone or something standing firm instead of being moved along. During the Second World War, the word became strongly tied to the underground movements that opposed occupation in parts of Europe, which is where the capitalised sense comes from.
Resistance beside opposition, defiance and friction
| Term | Where it parts from resistance |
|---|---|
| Opposition | Disagreement or being against something; often about views and votes |
| Defiance | Open, bold refusal, often with an attitude of challenge |
| Reluctance | Unwillingness inside you; it may never turn into action |
| Friction | The physical rubbing force, or tension between people |
| Resilience | Bouncing back after a hit, not pushing against it |
That last pair confuses many learners. Resilience is recovery; resistance is holding out. A person can have both. The plain opposite of resistance is acceptance or compliance.
Frequently asked questions
Does resistance sound positive or negative?
It depends on what is being resisted. Resistance to disease or to a bad idea sounds positive, while resistance to useful change can sound stubborn. On its own the noun carries no judgment; what is being resisted decides.
How do you define resistance in physics?
To define resistance in physics, say it is how strongly a material opposes the flow of electric current. It is measured in ohms. Higher resistance means less current for the same voltage.
What does the path of least resistance mean?
It means the easiest option, the one that causes the least effort or conflict. People often use it a little critically, as if the person avoided a harder but better choice.
What is the difference between resistance and a resistor?
Resistance is the property, the amount of opposition to current. A resistor is a physical part placed in a circuit to supply a known amount of that property.
Why is Resistance sometimes written with a capital R?
A capital letter usually marks a specific organised movement in history, such as groups that fought wartime occupation. In ordinary use, such as resistance to a plan, it stays lowercase.
Can resistance be plural?
Yes. Engineers speak of resistances when comparing several parts, and historians may mention different resistances in different regions. In everyday talk the singular is far more common.