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   in·stance

   /ˈinst(ə)ns/

   noun

   • 1. an example or single occurrence of something: "a serious instance of corruption" Similar exampleoccasionoccurrencecaserepresentative casetypical casecase in pointillustrationspecimensampleexemplarexemplification
   • ▪ a particular case: "in this instance it mattered little"

   verb

   • 1. cite (a fact, case, etc.) as an example: "here he instances in particular the work of Bach"

   Word Origin Middle English: via Old French from Latin instantia ‘presence, urgency’, from instare ‘be present, press upon’, from in- ‘upon’ + stare ‘to stand’. The original sense was ‘urgency, urgent entreaty’, surviving in at the instance of. In the late 16th century the word denoted a particular case cited to disprove a general assertion, derived from medieval Latin instantia ‘example to the contrary’ (translating Greek enstasis ‘objection’); hence the meaning ‘single occurrence’.

   Scrabble Points: 10

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