Meaning & use
resist the urge
Last updated
UK/rɪˌzɪst ði ˈɜːdʒ/
US/rɪˌzɪst ði ˈɜːrdʒ/
Meaning
phraseidiom
to stop yourself from doing something you strongly want to do
Grammar: Used with 'to' + infinitive: resist the urge to eat. The verb 'resist' stays the same in all tenses.
Patterns
- resist the urge to do something
- resist the urge to do something
I had to resist the urge to laugh during the serious meeting.
She resisted the urge to check her phone while driving.
He could not resist the urge to buy the expensive shoes.
Common combinations
- resist the urge to
- She resisted the urge to interrupt him.
- fight the urge
- He fought the urge to run away.
- give in to the urge
- I gave in to the urge and ate the whole cake.
- overcome the urge
- With practice, you can overcome the urge to bite your nails.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hold back
- More general; it can mean stopping yourself or stopping someone else, while 'resist the urge' is only about your own desire.
- control yourself
- Focuses on general self-control, not on a specific strong impulse.
Opposites
give in to the urgesuccumb to the urge
Word family
- resist verb
- to try to stop something or refuse to accept it
- resistance noun
- the act of fighting against something
- resistant adjective
- not affected or not harmed by something
Practice
Complete the sentence: She resisted the urge ___ her ex-boyfriend.
Choose one answer.
After 'resist the urge' we use the infinitive with 'to': resist the urge to call. 'Calling' would be wrong because the pattern is not 'urge calling'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “resist the urge”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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