as in to resist
to refuse to give in to
trying to withstand the temptation to use the beautiful weather as an excuse to take a mental health day
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Recent Examples of withstand
The great players on the offensive side of the ball can only withstand so many of these.
—
Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
The Anteaters withstood an early jolt from Cal State Fullerton in their Big West Conference matchup, but came back with several blows of their own in an 86-64 win at Titan Gym.
—Dan Arritt, Oc Register, 4 Jan. 2026
Anthropic and OpenAI have not announced IPO timelines, but both are making moves that look like preparation, adding finance, governance, forecasting, and an operating cadence that can withstand public scrutiny.
—Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 3 Jan. 2026
So far, only one gate that can withstand speeds above 40 miles per hour has been installed – located at the intersection of Canal Street and Bourbon Street, where the attacker first began his rampage.
—Kati Weis, CBS News, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for withstand
Recent Examples of Synonyms for withstand
Verb
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After a man appears to resist, the situation escalates as several agents tackle him and place him in handcuffs.—
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Pahlavi has encouraged Iranians to resist the Islamic regime by participating in mass protests.—
Verb
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The act of extinction, formalized thousands of miles away during the course of a tense meeting, had involved opposing factions in the company responsible for the destiny of Skinny Pedro and his companions.—
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And if Tommy is opposed to big risks, Cami can’t have him as the president of her company anymore.—
Cite this Entry
“Withstand.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/withstand. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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