Insist

//ɪnˈsɪst// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To hold up a claim emphatically.

    "The defendant insisted on his innocence."

  2. 2
    postulate positively and assertively wordnet
  3. 3
    To demand continually that something happen or be done; to reiterate a demand despite requests to abandon it. sometimes

    "The Prime Minister insisted on his Chancellor's resignation."

  4. 4
    beg persistently and urgently wordnet
  5. 5
    To stand (on); to rest (upon); to lean (upon). obsolete

    "Angles likewise which insist on the Diameter, are all Right Angles."

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  1. 6
    be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
importuneadvocateaffirmallegeannounceannunciate

Example

More examples

"You insist upon our taking that course of action."

Etymology

Partly from Middle French insister, from Latin īnsistere; and partly from a back-formation from insistence. Compare typologically from the same PIE root Bulgarian настоявам (nastojavam), Russian наста́ивать (nastáivatʹ).

Related phrases

hold up

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.