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PlainSpell

resist

re·sist/ɹɪˈzɪst/verb, noun

resist is spelled R-E-S-I-S-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables (re·sist). It appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, resist means “To attempt to counter the actions or effects of” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in resist?

Letters6: R-E-S-I-S-T
Syllables2: re·sist
In writing16 times per million words; the 5,121st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is resist?

Resist appears 16 times per million words in written English, the 5,121st 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 resist?

  • US /ɹɪˈzɪst/
  • US /ɹəˈzɪst/
  • Australia /ɹɪˈzɪst/

Resist has 2 syllables, split re·sist in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-resist.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with resist?

5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as resist from its last stressed vowel (/ɪst/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: sister.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of resist

  • resists present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • resisting participle, present
  • resisted participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does resist mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To attempt to counter the actions or effects of.

  2. 2

    To withstand the actions of.

  3. 3

    To oppose; to refuse to accept.

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo be distasteful to.

noun

  1. 1

    A protective coating or covering.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Resist in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrésister (to attempt to counter actions or effects of), s'opposer, rejeter, empêcher (to oppose), dégoûter (to be distasteful to), vernis (protective coating or covering)
Germanwiderstreben (to attempt to counter actions or effects of), widerstreiten (to oppose), zuwider sein (to be distasteful to), Deckmittel (protective coating or covering), widerstehen (to withstand actions or effects of)
Spanishresistir (to attempt to counter actions or effects of), abstener (to oppose)
Portugueseabster (to oppose), resistir, aguentar (to withstand actions or effects of)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does resist come from?

From Middle English resisten, from Middle French resister and Old French resistre, and their source, Latin resistere, from re- + sistere (“cause to stand”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after resist