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/ɪnsˈɪst/ Listen

verb

Insist v. i. (past & past part. insisted; pres. part. insisting)

To stand or rest; to find support; with in, on, or upon. (R.)

To take a stand and refuse to give way; to hold to something firmly or determinedly; to be persistent, urgent, or pressing; to persist in demanding; followed by on, upon, or that; as, he insisted on these conditions; he insisted on going at once; he insists that he must have money. "Insisting on the old prerogative." "Without further insisting on the different tempers of Juvenal and Horace."

Synonyms: Insist, Persist. Insist implies some alleged right, as authority or claim. Persist may be from obstinacy alone, and either with or against rights. We insist as against others; we persist in what exclusively relates to ourselves; as, he persisted in that course; he insisted on his friend's adopting it.

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Etymology of 'Insist'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Insist" Quotes from Famous Books

... mode of negotiating with Bonaparte. "It matters not at all," he said, taking up a poker, "in what way I lay this poker on the floor. But if Bonaparte should say it must be placed in this direction," suiting the action to the word, "we must instantly insist upon its being laid in some other one." At the same time Bonaparte, across the Channel, was illustrating in almost identical phrase the indomitable energy that was common to these two men, the exponents of the two opposing and irreconcilable ...

— The Life of Nelson, Vol. II. (of 2) - The Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain • A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan

... than yourself will go, like yourself in a cart and with their hands tied like yours.'—'Greater ladies! What! Princesses of the blood!'—'Still greater ladies than those. . .'They began to think the jest carried too far. Madame de Gramont, to dispel the gloom, did not insist on a reply to her last exclamation, contenting herself by saying in the lightest tone, 'And they will not even leave one a confessor!'—'No, Madame, neither you nor any other person will be allowed a confessor; the last of the condemned that will have ...

— The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 1 (of 6) - The Ancient Regime • Hippolyte A. Taine

... your speaking to each other. But let me remind you that I am a parent, and that I possess rights which no gentleman will for a moment dream of infringing or disputing; in virtue of these, therefore, I must insist that, henceforward, you never presume to address my daughter in the language of love. Nay, do not look so angry, my young friend; I meant not to speak quite so harshly, but I was and am most anxious you should understand that there must be an end to ...

— The Rover's Secret - A Tale of the Pirate Cays and Lagoons of Cuba • Harry Collingwood

... "I insist. I insist even more for your sake than my own, for I am certain that you will be the first to regret your interference. Once more, yes ...

— The Blonde Lady - Being a Record of the Duel of Wits between Arsne Lupin and the English Detective • Maurice Leblanc

... a cry, and looked round the circle as if for a way of escape; but a Court is a cruel place, in which the ugly or helpless find scant pity. A dozen voices begged the Queen to insist; and, amid laughter and loud jests, Bassompierre hastened to the door, and returned with an armful of women's gear, surmounted by a wig and a ...

— From the Memoirs of a Minister of France • Stanley Weyman

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