insist

To keep saying that you want something, even when other people disagree.

• You can come if you insist.
• He insisted on paying for lunch.
• Why do you insist on doing everything yourself?

How to use it: insist on doing something (He insisted on driving despite our objections.); insist that someone do something (She insisted that we stay for dinner.)

Similar words: demand

Opposites: yield

Common phrases: insist on something, insist on paying, insist on going, insist on payment

To say firmly that something is true, especially when other people doubt it.

• I insist that I am right.
• She insisted she had never seen the letter.
• The witnesses still insist that they heard two shots.

How to use it: insist that… (The driver insisted that the light was green.); insist on something (Despite the evidence, he insisted on his innocence.)

Similar words: maintain, assert, declare

Common phrases: insist that, insist on innocence