to resist
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to resist
To successfully defend oneself against pressure, an attack, or a temptation and not give in.
Ich konnte dem Stück Schokoladenkuchen einfach nicht widerstehen.
I simply couldn't resist the piece of chocolate cake.
The verb 'widerstehen' (to resist) is inseparable. The prefix 'wider-' remains firmly attached to the verb 'stehen' (to stand) in all sentence forms and is not placed at the end of the sentence.
Sie widerstand der Versuchung, noch ein Stück Torte zu essen.
She resisted the temptation to eat another piece of cake.
The word is made up of 'wider' (against) and 'stehen' (to stand). The literal meaning is therefore 'to stand against something' and describes an act of resistance.
Die kleine Firma konnte dem Druck der großen Konkurrenz nicht lange widerstehen.
The small company could not resist the pressure from the large competition for long.
In the meaning 'to defend oneself/resist', 'widerstehen' always takes the dative. You resist 'jemandem' (someone) or 'etwas' (something).
Der Sportler widerstand dem Schmerz und lief weiter.
The athlete resisted the pain and kept running.
In the rare meaning 'to cause revulsion', the sentence structure changes: the thing that triggers disgust is the subject, and the person who feels the disgust is in the dative. This use is very elevated.
Diese Art von Heuchelei widersteht mir zutiefst.
This kind of hypocrisy deeply disgusts me.
weak
'schwach werden' and 'widerstehen' are opposites when it comes to a temptation or pressure. When you 'schwach wird' (give in), you give in even though you perhaps did not want to. When you 'widersteht' (resist), you stay strong and do not give in. So the difference lies in the result: with 'schwach werden', the temptation wins; with 'widerstehen', the person remains firm. 'widerstehen' is used as a verb, for example 'einer Versuchung widerstehen' (to resist a temptation).
Meine Mutter widersteht dem Angebot, weil sie kein Geld ausgeben will.
My mother resists the offer because she does not want to spend any money.
Im Supermarkt wurde sie schwach und kaufte doch Schokolade.
At the supermarket, she gave in and bought chocolate after all.