instance

[in-stuh ns] /ˈɪn stəns/
noun
1.
a case or occurrence of anything:
fresh instances of oppression.
2.
an example put forth in proof or illustration:
to cite a few instances.
3.
Law. the institution and prosecution of a case.
4.
Archaic. urgency in speech or action.
5.
Obsolete. an impelling motive.
verb (used with object), instanced, instancing.
6.
to cite as an instance or example.
7.
to exemplify by an instance.
verb (used without object), instanced, instancing.
8.
to cite an instance.
Idioms
9.
at the instance of, at the urging or suggestion of:
He applied for the assistantship at the instance of his professor.
10.
for instance, as an example; for example:
If you were to go to Italy, for instance, you would get a different perspective on our culture.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English < Latin instantia presence, urgency (Medieval Latin: case, example). See instant, -ance
Related forms
counterinstance, noun
uninstanced, adjective
Synonyms
2. See case1 .
Examples from the web for instances
  • In some instances, complete fertilizers can even harm a plant.
  • Such intricate structures would only be recovered in instances of exceptional preservation.
  • These events, more and more, are being seen as instances to reaffirm and reestablish family ties.
  • My pending application got me thinking about great instances of meh in literature.
  • instances of vote rigging were as widely reported as instances of legitimate polling.
  • No one mentions the delays or the instances of less than first-rate care.
  • In some instances, the foreign money bought reformist governments enough time for their policies to work.
  • Collect information on instances in which capital cities have been relocated.
  • While bonobos have been observed shaking their heads sideways before, it was mostly in instances of play.
  • instances of coyotes viewing humans as prey are extremely rare.
British Dictionary definitions for instances

instance

/ˈɪnstəns/
noun
1.
a case or particular example
2.
for instance, for or as an example
3.
a specified stage in proceedings; step (in the phrases in the first, second, etc, instance)
4.
urgent request or demand (esp in the phrase at the instance of)
5.
(logic)
  1. an expression derived from another by instantiation
  2. See substitution (sense 4b)
6.
(archaic) motive or reason
verb (transitive)
7.
to cite as an example
Word Origin
C14 (in the sense: case, example): from Medieval Latin instantia example, (in the sense: urgency) from Latin: a being close upon, presence, from instāns pressing upon, urgent; see instant
Word Origin and History for instances

instance

n.

mid-14c., "urgency," from Old French instance "eagerness, anxiety, solicitation" (13c.), from Latin instantia "presence, effort intention; earnestness, urgency," literally "a standing near," from instans (see instant). In Scholastic logic, "a fact or example" (early 15c.), from Medieval Latin instantia, used to translate Greek enstasis. This led to use in phrase for instance "as an example" (1650s), and the noun phrase To give (someone) a for instance (1953, American English).

Idioms and Phrases with instances

instance

see under for example