insistent
/ɪnˈsɪstənt/adjective
insistent is spelled I-N-S-I-S-T-E-N-T: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, insistent means “Urgent in dwelling upon anything; persistent in urging or maintaining” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in insistent?
| Letters | 9: I-N-S-I-S-T-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,150th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is insistent?
Insistent appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce insistent?
- /ɪnˈsɪstənt/
Insistent has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-insistent.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of insistent
- more insistent comparative
- most insistent superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does insistent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
obsoleteStanding or resting on something.
- 2
Urgent in dwelling upon anything; persistent in urging or maintaining.
- 3
Extorting attention or notice; coercively staring or prominent; vivid; intense.
- 4
Standing on end: specifically said of the hind toe of a bird when its base is inserted so high on the shank that only its tip touches the ground: correlated with incumbent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does insistent come from?
From Latin insistens, participle of insisto.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).