WITHSTAND (withstood)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: withstood   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does withstand mean? 

• WITHSTAND (verb)
  The verb WITHSTAND has 2 senses:

1. resist or confront with resistance

2. stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something

  Familiarity information: WITHSTAND used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WITHSTAND (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they withstand    ... he / she / it withstands   
Past simple: withstood   
Past participle: withstood   
-ing form: withstanding   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Resist or confront with resistance

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

defy; hold; hold up; withstand

Context example:

The bridge held

Hypernyms (to "withstand" is one way to...):

hold out; resist; stand firm; withstand (stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withstand"):

brave; brave out; endure; weather (face and withstand with courage)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

withstander (an opponent who resists with force or resolution)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Stand up or offer resistance to somebody or something

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

hold out; resist; stand firm; withstand

Hypernyms (to "withstand" is one way to...):

defend; fight; fight back; fight down; oppose (fight against or resist strongly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "withstand"):

stand out (be stubborn in resolution or resistance)

stand up (refuse to back down; remain solid under criticism or attack)

outbrave (resist bravely)

hold off (resist and fight to a standoff)

remain firm; stand (hold one's ground; maintain a position; be steadfast or upright)

defy; hold; hold up; withstand (resist or confront with resistance)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

withstander (a fighter who holds out against attack)

 Context examples 

Alas! Yes; I cannot withstand their demands.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

No one can withstand the charm of such a mystery.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Multidrug Resistance Induction involves initiation of activities of biologic molecules or complexes involved in processes that increase the ability of cancer cells to counteract, defeat, or withstand the effects of multiple chemotherapeutic agents.

(Multidrug Resistance Induction, NCI Thesaurus)

Mechanisms, functions, activities, or processes exhibited by tumors or pathogens to withstand previously toxic drugs.

(Drug Resistance Process, NCI Thesaurus)

There was a calm assurance of power in Holmes’s manner which could not be withstood.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The degree of pain an individual can withstand.

(Pain Tolerance, NCI Thesaurus)

Another onfall we may withstand, but they are many and we are few, so that the time must come when we can no longer form line across the hill.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

To have resisted such attractions, to have withstood such tenderness!

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Their unusual bodies are designed to withstand frigid temperatures and extreme pressure.

(Three New Species of Fish Found at Bottom of Pacific Ocean, VOA)

This made the PST able to withstand much larger voltages, and produce much better cooling over a much larger range of temperatures.

(Electronic solid could reduce carbon emissions in fridges and air conditioners, University of Cambridge)