Literary notes about withstand (AI summary)
The word "withstand" is employed to express a steadfast resistance against formidable forces, whether they be physical, emotional, or metaphysical. It appears in contexts where a character defies an overpowering presence or resists an inevitable fate, as in a defiant challenge to divine judgment ([1], [2], [3]) and in the struggle to overcome internal barriers like temptation or sorrow ([4], [5], [6]). It also conveys the idea of enduring the relentless pressures of nature or war ([7], [8], [9]), while in mythic and epic narratives it often illustrates heroic resilience in the face of insurmountable odds ([10], [11], [12]). Even in more technical discourse, the term signifies the capacity to bear stress or pressure, underscoring its multifaceted role in capturing the notion of unwavering durability and resistance ([13], [14]).
- and who is that shepherd that can withstand my countenance?
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - Therefore do not thou pray for this people, nor take to thee praise and supplication for them: and do not withstand me: for I will not hear thee.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - If then God gave them the same grace as to us also who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ: who was I, that could withstand God?
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - “Perhaps I feel it as much as you do, but it is my belief that it is only hard to withstand temptation at first.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - Human nature could not withstand these bewildering temptations.
— from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain - She had not foreseen anything of this, and her feelings could seldom withstand the melancholy influence of the word “last.”
— from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - What ship could withstand a collision with his underwater Monitor ?
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne - And I find that several species in this state withstand uninjured an immersion in sea-water during seven days.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - Calculate, then, how much resistance of bone structure and strength of constitution they'd need in order to withstand such pressures!"
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World by Jules Verne - O, if he would my will withstand When banished from his home and land, This were a comfort in my woe; But he will ne'er do this, I know.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki - Then Níla with his fist he slew, And Śarabh with his knee o'erthrew, Nor could Gaváksha's strength withstand The force of his terrific hand.
— from The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Valmiki - But long thou shalt not thy just fate withstand, If any power assist Achilles' hand.
— from The Iliad by Homer - Strong enough to withstand much higher pressures than that at which it is worked; (2) so designed as to burn its fuel to the greatest advantage.
— from How it Works by Archibald Williams - Both of these juices withstand heat remarkably well.
— from Scurvy, Past and Present by Alfred F. Hess