insulin resistance

noun

: reduced sensitivity to insulin by the body's insulin-dependent processes (such as glucose uptake and lipolysis) that is typical of type 2 diabetes but often occurs in the absence of diabetes

Examples of insulin resistance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Dietary fiber can reduce insulin resistance and body weight, further supporting blood sugar balance and lowering the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. —Amy Brownstein, Verywell Health, 6 Nov. 2025

To understand how different types of exercise affect metabolism, researchers fed mice a high-fat diet to mimic human obesity and insulin resistance, which are two major risk factors for type 2 diabetes. —Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 5 Nov. 2025

People with diabetes or insulin resistance should be mindful of portion sizes. —Lindsey Desoto, Health, 30 Oct. 2025

Exercise promotes insulin sensitivity (the opposite of insulin resistance), and this is a great health benefit, but the effect is short lived and must be renewed daily, just like taking a pill. —Bryant Stamford, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for insulin resistance

• magnetoresistance
• assistance
• consistence
• desistance
• existence
• insistence
• persistence
• subsistence
• coexistence
• nonexistence
• distance

Medical Definition

insulin resistance

noun

: reduced sensitivity to insulin by the body's insulin-dependent processes (as glucose uptake, lipolysis, and inhibition of glucose production by the liver) that results in decreased activity of these processes or an increase in insulin production or both and that is typical of type 2 diabetes but often occurs in the absence of diabetes