resistance

Resistance is defined as a refusal to give in or to something that slows down or prevents something.

(noun)

See resistance in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

the act of resisting, opposing, withstanding, etc.
power or capacity to resist; specif., the ability of an organism to ward off disease
opposition of some force, thing, etc. to another or others
a force that retards, hinders, or opposes motion
the organized underground movement in a country fighting against a foreign occupying power, a dictatorship, etc., as in France during the Nazi occupation
Elec.
1. the property of a component by which it resists the flow of electricity, usually measured in ohms and equal to the ratio of the voltage to the current: it is the reciprocal of conductance (abbrev. R)
2. resistor
Psychoanalysis the active psychological opposition to the bringing of unconscious, usually repressed, material to consciousness

Origin: ME < MFr resistence < LL resistentia

See resistance in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

The act or an instance of resisting or the capacity to resist.
A force that tends to oppose or retard motion.
often Resistance An underground organization engaged in a struggle for national liberation in a country under military or totalitarian occupation.
Psychology A process in which the ego opposes the conscious recall of anxiety-producing experiences.
Biology
a. The capacity of an organism to defend itself against a disease.
b. The capacity of an organism or a tissue to withstand the effects of a harmful environmental agent.
Electricity The opposition of a body or substance to current passing through it, resulting in a change of electrical energy into heat or another form of energy.

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