# insist

Pronunciation: say "in-SIST" /ɪnˈsɪst/

## Verb

1. To demand repeatedly that something happen or be done, restating the demand and refusing to drop it despite requests to give it up.
   - Simple: To keep saying firmly that something must happen, even when others want you to stop.
   - _Union leaders insist on safer working conditions before any return to work._
   - _She insisted repeatedly that the contract be honored despite their objections._
2. To put forward and maintain a claim emphatically, asserting it with force even when it is challenged.
   - Simple: To say strongly that something is true, even when other people doubt it.
   - _Witnesses insist that the car never stopped at the crossing._
   - _He insisted on his innocence throughout the trial._

## Verb

3. To stand, rest, or lean upon something: said in older geometry of a line or figure resting on another. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To stand or rest on something, leaning on it for support.

## Origin

"Insist" comes partly from Middle French "insister," which came from Latin "insistere," and partly as a back-formation from "insistence."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/insist (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).