Definition of: insist

(in·sist′) v.i.
To make emphatic or repeated assertion, demand, or request: often with on or upon: He insisted on the correctness of his theory.
—v.t. To state or demand emphatically: with a clause as object: He insisted that he was right. [<F insister <L insistere dwell upon, persist <in- on + sistere stand]
—in·sis′tence, in·sis′ten·cy noun Synonyms: persevere, persist. Insist implies some alleged authority or right; persist implies simply determination of will; we insist upon the action of others; we persist in our own. Insist is used of any urgency, good or bad, but largely in the good sense; persist is used chiefly in a bad sense, persevere being preferred for the better meaning. See PERSIST.