instance
/ˈɪnstəns/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.59 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A case offered as an exemplification or a precedent; an illustrative example.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A specific occurrence of something that is created or instantiated, such as a database, or an object of a class in object-oriented programming.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "I know one very well alied, to whom, at the instance of a brother of his[…], I spake to that purpose[…]."
- "[…]undertook at her instance to restore them."
- "It was settled, as long ago as the first Congress, at the instance of Madison, then in the Senate, and by the deciding vote of John Adams, then Vice-President, that even where the advice and consent of the Senate was necessary to the appointment of an officer, the President had the absolute power to remove him without consulting the Senate."
- "It sends some precious instance of itself/ After the thing it loves."
- "The instances that second marriage move Are base respects of thrift, but none of love."
- "The reason that I gather he is mad, Besides this present instance of his rage, Is a mad tale he told to day at dinner […]"
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French instance, from Latin īnstantia (“a being near, presence, also perseverance, earnestness, importunity, urgency”), from īnstāns (“urgent”); see instant.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: īnstantia