Basic Details
Word: Resistance
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Refusing to accept something, or fighting against it; also a force that slows down movement or the flow of electricity.
Synonyms: opposition, defiance
Antonyms: surrender, submission, acceptance
How to Spell Resistance
Syllables: re - sis - tance
Tricky part: The ending is ance, not ence. Look-alikes such as persistence and existence use ence, which is why resistence is such a common slip.
Watch out for: resistence, ressistance, resistanse
Memory tip: Resistant has an a, and resistance keeps it. The nouns of insist, persist and exist go the other way and use e.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Regular exercise builds the body's resistance to illness.
Example 2: The thief gave up without any resistance when the police arrived.
Example 3: A rough road offers more resistance to a bicycle than a smooth one.
Fun Fact
Electrical resistance is measured in ohms, named after the German physicist Georg Ohm, who studied how current, voltage and resistance are linked.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes ance (not ence) to form a noun. Choose it:
ance
a) resist
b) insist
c) exist
d) persist
Show answer
a) resist. Insistence, persistence and existence all end in ence; resist alone becomes resistance.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word resistance as used in the sentence:
The villagers put up strong resistance when a company tried to cut down their forest.
a) surrender
b) defiance
c) struggle
d) opposition
Show answer
a) surrender. Opposition, struggle and defiance describe what the villagers did; surrender would mean giving in.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose the correct word:
Cyclists wear tight clothing to cut down air etiancsres.
a) resilience
b) existence
c) resistance
d) assistance
Show answer
c) resistance. Spell resist from the jumble, and the letters left over, a, n, c and e, give ance.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Resistance to a disease is ____.
a) the ability to fight it off
b) a dislike of medicine
c) a fear of doctors
d) the habit of catching it
Show answer
a) the ability to fight it off
2. Which of these was resistance to British rule in India?
a) the White Revolution
b) the Green Revolution
c) the first Five-Year Plan
d) the Quit India Movement
Show answer
d) the Quit India Movement
