insistent
Americanadjective
-
earnest or emphatic in dwelling upon, maintaining, or demanding something; persistent; pertinacious.
-
compelling attention or notice.
an insistent tone.
adjective
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making continual and persistent demands
-
demanding notice or attention; compelling
the insistent cry of a bird
Other Word Forms
- insistence noun
- insistently adverb
- noninsistent adjective
- overinsistent adjective
- overinsistently adverb
- quasi-insistent adjective
- quasi-insistently adverb
- superinsistent adjective
- superinsistently adverb
- uninsistent adjective
- uninsistently adverb
Etymology
Origin of insistent
1615–25; < Latin insistent- (stem of in-sistēns ), present participle of insistere. See insist, -ent
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Survival has its own language—quieter than we expect, but no less insistent.
From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026
The phrase is self-explanatory, but Ms. Farr is insistent, so in her reading the woman polishes silver “until it gleamed.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
After meeting bassist Robbie Shakespeare in 1972, the pair built distinct rhythms such as the insistent “Rockers” groove that bolstered canonical reggae tracks.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026
And Emery was insistent that his players had delivered a "complete" performance.
From BBC • Jan. 25, 2026
“Dear Flora,” said Flora’s mother again in a louder, more insistent voice.
From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
