resistance

noun

• 1 [mass noun] the refusal to accept or comply with something:they displayed a narrow-minded resistance to change
• the use of force or violence to oppose someone or something:government forces were unable to crush guerrilla-style resistance she put up no resistance to being led away
• (also resistance movement) a secret organization resisting authority, especially in an occupied country: he went underground and joined the resistance
• (the Resistance) the underground movement formed in France during the Second World War to fight the German occupying forces and the Vichy government. Also called maquis.

• 2the ability not to be affected by something, especially adversely:some of us have a lower resistance to cold than others
• [mass noun] Medicine & Biology lack of sensitivity to a drug, insecticide, etc., especially as a result of continued exposure or genetic change: many insects show resistance to at least one chemical

• 3the impeding or stopping effect exerted by one material thing on another:air resistance was reduced by streamlining

• 4the degree to which a substance or device opposes the passage of an electric current, causing energy dissipation. By Ohm’s law resistance (measured in ohms) is equal to the voltage divided by the current.
• [count noun] a resistor or other circuit component which opposes the passage of an electric current.