I. ˈinztən(t)s, ˈin(t)stə-, ˈinsən- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English instaunce, from Middle French instance act of urging, motive, instant, from Latin instantia presence, vehemence in speech, urgency, from instant-, instans (present participle) + -ia -y — more at instant
1.
a. archaic : urgent or earnest solicitation : urgency or exercise of pressure in either petition or action
b. : instigation , suggestion , request
work undertaken at the instance of the householder
c. obsolete : something that urges : an impelling cause or motive
2.
[Medieval Latin instantia, translation of Greek enstasis ]
a. archaic : a case or example brought forward in disproof or rebuttal of a generalization : exception
b. : something that is available or is offered as an illustrative case : something cited in proof or as an example
an instance of true heroism
carefully documenting each instance of the use of this diphthong
c. obsolete : token , sign , symptom
d. obsolete : detail , circumstance
3.
[French or Late Latin; French, from Late Latin instantia, from Latin]
a. : the institution and prosecution of a lawsuit : a legal proceeding or process : suit
b.
(1) : a demand set forth in a civil law proceeding
(2) : a specific case referred to as an example
(3) : a case in an ecclesiastical court that is brought at the request of a party and not upon official request
4.
a. : a step, stage, or situation viewed as part of a process or series of events : an occasion or period defined by certain events
a well-known writer who prefers, in this instance , to remain anonymous — Times Literary Supplement
appointments will be made for a three-year period in the first instance
b. : substitution instance
Synonyms:
case , illustration , example , sample , specimen : instance and case are less specific in meaning and suggestion than the others. The former may be used in reference to any particular person, thing, or situation which may be given to illustrate or explain
the instance may be rejected, but the principle abides — B.N.Cardozo
wanted to work out the problem on a definite instance — A.L.Guérard
case is now very general in meaning and poor in connotative power; it is used to designate a situation or occurrence showing characteristics to be grouped together and viewed as a configuration or pattern
the case of payments made under the head of profits to entrepreneurs, financiers, speculators, and middlemen in various markets — J.A.Hobson
usually isolated cases of deaf and dumb, feebleminded, or otherwise unfortunate children — R.W.Murray
illustration is likely to suggest an instance adduced for the sake of clarifying or demonstrating
the resolution of Washington and his men at Valley Forge is an illustration of bravery
example suggests a single item or incident taken as typical or representative
perhaps the best of many American examples of the creative artist and thinker … in a country and an era dominantly materialistic — H.S.Canby
sample may indicate a part or a unit of a whole taken more or less at random but still presumed to be typical or representative in showing a general nature, character, or quality
so many happy youths … so many divers samples from the growth of life's sweet season — William Wordsworth
the barest sample of the riches which the gleaner may gather — B.N.Cardozo
specimen is close to sample in its meaning but may suggest scientific or otherwise close analysis
made it my business to examine some specimens of the writing — Charles Dickens
specimen may indicate either the typical or representative example or the merely existent instance
there were a few boomtowns in the Middle West, but the finest specimens began to be seen only with the discoveries of gold and silver in the Far West — A.F.Harlow
•
- for instance
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. obsolete : urge , importune
2. : to illustrate or demonstrate by an instance
his meaning is well instanced in the passage quoted
3. : to mention as a case or example : cite
we might instance the increase in delinquency
intransitive verb
: to mention an instance
Synonyms: see mention