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

Exercise spurs insulin sensitivity (the opposite of insulin resistance) by assisting insulin signaling in your muscles to take in glucose and use it as fuel. —Bryant Stamford, Louisville Courier Journal, 4 Sep. 2025

Some studies suggest that oral magnesium may help modestly lower blood pressure in people with a magnesium deficiency, hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, prediabetes, or insulin resistance. —Ayesha Gulzar, Verywell Health, 28 Aug. 2025

However, people with high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and those following low-carb diets may want to think twice about using oat milk as a daily staple. —Jillian Kubala, Health, 19 Aug. 2025

The way the body metabolizes those fats can contribute to insulin resistance — when cells don’t respond properly to insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. —Aria Bendix, NBC news, 6 Aug. 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