Stance and Its Relations

Stance and Its Relations â€Å"Stance† and Its Relations â€Å"Stance† and Its Relations By Mark Nichol A previous post listed words such as constitute that ultimately stem from the Latin verb stare, meaning â€Å"stand.† Here, stance (from the present participle of stare), and words in which stance is the root, as well as terms related to those words, are listed and defined. A stance is a literal or figurative attitude or posture or a position in which a person stands to prepare to engage in athletic activity. (Stand is from Old English and is distantly related.) Constance (â€Å"standing with†), meaning â€Å"steadfastness,† is an obsolete term (and a rare female given name), as is its synonym constancy, but the adjectival form constant persists to mean â€Å"steadfast† as well as â€Å"invariable† or â€Å"uniform† as well as â€Å"regular.† The adverbial form is constantly, and the antonym is inconstant. Circumstance (â€Å"standing around†) means â€Å"condition, detail, event, or fact associated with another,† or pertains to evidence that supports the likelihood of an event (as in the phrase â€Å"circumstantial evidence†); circumstances is a euphemism alluding to financial resources (for example, one said to be in straitened circumstances is poor). Distance (â€Å"standing apart†) is the space between two points in space or time, or the quality of being spatially or emotionally remote or intellectually dispassionate; the adjectival form is distant, and distantly is the adverbial form. (Distantness is a rarely used noun referring to the quality of being distant.) One can also describe a far point or area as â€Å"the distance,† as in the phrase â€Å"looking out into the distance.† An instance (â€Å"standing on†) is an example or an occasion; the word can also be a verb meaning â€Å"cite† or â€Å"demonstrate†; in legal terminology, it pertains to the pursuit of a lawsuit. Instant means â€Å"a very small point at time†; an additional, outdated sense is â€Å"the current month,† seen abbreviated in historical correspondence in phrases such as â€Å"in your letter of the 15th inst.,† meaning â€Å"the letter you sent on the 15th of this month.† As an adjective, instant means â€Å"current,† â€Å"immediate,† or â€Å"urgent† or refers to something ready-made or able to be prepared very quickly and/or very easily; instantly is the adverbial form. The adjective instantaneous means â€Å"occurring immediately,† and its adverbial form is instantaneously. The verb instantiate is a synonym for â€Å"embody† or â€Å"express.† A substance (â€Å"standing under†) is any physical material, but substance also pertains to essence, meaning, and quality. Euphemistically, it refers to property or wealth, as in the phrase â€Å"a man of substance.† In reference to addictive or otherwise harmful substances, it is used in the phrases â€Å"controlled substance† and â€Å"substance abuse.† The adjective substantial has multiple senses, including â€Å"essential† or â€Å"true,† or â€Å"considerable† or â€Å"sturdy.† Substantial can also be a noun meaning â€Å"something of substance,† and the quality of being substantial is substantiality or substantialness, and the adverbial form is substantially. Assistance is the act of assisting, or helping, a person or another entity. (Assist literally means â€Å"stand by.†) Desistance refers to desisting, or ceasing to assist; the noun is little used, but desist (â€Å"stop standing†), though rarely employed otherwise, is widely known from the legal phrase â€Å"cease and desist,† which pertains to a demand to stop infringing on a right, such as copyright. Resistance is the act of opposing or an opposing force or a source of opposition, the capacity to resist (â€Å"stand again†), or a behavior in which a patient opposes psychological therapy; capitalized, the noun has referred to various organizations that covertly oppose a force occupying a country or other geopolitical territory. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Talking10 Colloquial Terms and Their Meanings50 Synonyms for "Song"