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Webster 1913 Edition
Resistance
Re-sist′ance
(-ans)
, Noun.
1.
The act of resisting; opposition, passive or active.
When King Demetrius saw that . . . no
resistance
was made against him, he sent away all his forces. 1. Macc. xi. 38.
2.
(Physics)
The quality of not yielding to force or external pressure; that power of a body which acts in opposition to the impulse or pressure of another, or which prevents the effect of another power;
as, the
resistance
of the air to a body passing through it; the resistance
of a target to projectiles.3.
A means or method of resisting; that which resists.
Unfold to us some warlike
resistance
. Shakespeare
4.
(Elec.)
A certain hindrance or opposition to the passage of an electrical current or discharge offered by conducting bodies. It bears an inverse relation to the conductivity, – good conductors having a small resistance, while poor conductors or insulators have a very high resistance. The unit of resistance is the ohm.
Resistance box
(Elec.)
, a rheostat consisting of a box or case containing a number of resistance coils of standard values so arranged that they can be combined in various ways to afford more or less resistance.
– Resistance coil
(Elec.)
, a coil of wire introduced into an electric circuit to increase the resistance.
– Solid of least resistance
(Mech.)
, a solid of such a form as to experience, in moving in a fluid, less resistance than any other solid having the same base, height, and volume.
Webster 1828 Edition
Resistance
RESIST'ANCE
,Noun.
1.
The act of resisting; opposition. Resistance is passive, as that of a fixed body which interrupts the passage of a moving body; or active, as in the exertion of force to stop, repel or defeat progress or designs.2.
The quality of not yielding to force or external impression; that power of a body which acts in opposition to the impulse or pressure of another, or which prevents the effect of another power; as the resistance of a ball which receives the force of another; the resistance of wood to a cutting instrument; the resistance of air to the motion of a cannon ball, or of water to the motion of a ship.Definition 2025
résistance
résistance
See also: resistance