Instance

Instance
Instance In"stance, n. [F. instance, L. instantia, fr. instans. See {Instant}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The act or quality of being instant or pressing; urgency; solicitation; application; suggestion; motion. [1913 Webster]

Undertook at her instance to restore them. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]

2. That which is instant or urgent; motive. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

The instances that second marriage move Are base respects of thrift, but none of love. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

3. Occasion; order of occurrence. [1913 Webster]

These seem as if, in the time of Edward I., they were drawn up into the form of a law, in the first instance. --Sir M. Hale. [1913 Webster]

4. That which offers itself or is offered as an illustrative case; something cited in proof or exemplification; a case occurring; an example; as, we could find no instance of poisoning in the town within the past year. [1913 Webster +PJC]

Most remarkable instances of suffering. --Atterbury. [1913 Webster]

5. A token; a sign; a symptom or indication. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

{Causes of instance}, those which proceed at the solicitation of some party. --Hallifax.

{Court of first instance}, the court by which a case is first tried.

{For instance}, by way of example or illustration; for example.

{Instance Court} (Law), the Court of Admiralty acting within its ordinary jurisdiction, as distinguished from its action as a prize court.

Syn: Example; case. See {Example}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • instance — [ ɛ̃stɑ̃s ] n. f. • v. 1240 « application, soin »; lat. instantia 1 ♦ Sollicitation pressante. Vx au sing., sauf dans Demander avec instance. ⇒ insistance. « mon camarade me fit de telles instances » (Balzac). Mod. Céder aux instances de qqn. ⇒… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • instance — INSTANCE. s. f. Poursuite, sollicitation pressante. Grande instance. faire instance, de grandes instances, de vives instances, des instances pressantes auprés de quelqu un, envers quelqu un. je l ay fait à son instance. je l en ay sollicité avec… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • instance — n Instance, case, illustration, example, sample, specimen mean a concrete thing which has or manifests the qualities, characters, or nature of a type, a class, or a group. Instance applies to an individual person or thing brought forth in support …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • instance — [in′stəns] n. [ME instaunce < OFr instance < L instantia, a standing upon or near, being present < instans: see INSTANT] 1. Archaic an urgent plea; persistent solicitation 2. an example; case; illustration 3. a step in proceeding;… …   English World dictionary

  • instance — in·stance / in stəns/ n [French, from Late Latin instantia, from Latin, the fact of being present or impending, vehemence in speech, urgency, from instant instans insistent, pressing, from present participle of instare to be pressing, stand upon] …   Law dictionary

  • instance — ► NOUN 1) an example or single occurrence of something. 2) a particular case. ► VERB ▪ cite as an example. ● for instance Cf. ↑for instance ● in the first (or second etc.) …   English terms dictionary

  • instance — (n.) mid 14c., urgency, from O.Fr. instance eagerness, anxiety, solicitation (13c.), from L. instantia presence, effort intention; earnestness, urgency, lit. a standing near, from instans (see INSTANT (Cf. instant)). In Scholastic logic, a fact… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Instance — In stance, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Instanced}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Instancing}.] To mention as a case or example; to refer to; to cite; as, to instance a fact. H. Spenser. [1913 Webster] I shall not instance an abstruse author. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Instance — In stance, v. i. To give an example. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] This story doth not only instance in kingdoms, but in families too. Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • instance — [n] case, situation case history, case in point, detail, example, exemplification, exponent, ground, illustration, item, occasion, occurrence, particular, precedent, proof, reason, representative, sample, sampling, specimen, time; concepts… …   New thesaurus

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