consist Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb originate (in)
    dwell; lie in; lie.
    • The problems dwell in the social injustices in this country
  2. verb have its essential character; be comprised or contained in; be embodied in
    • The payment consists in food
    • What does love consist in?
  3. verb be consistent in form, tenor, or character; be congruous
    • Desires are to be satisfied only so far as consists with an approved end
  4. verb be composed of
    comprise.
    • The land he conquered comprised several provinces
    • What does this dish consist of?

WordNet

Con*sist" intransitive verb
Etymology
L. consistere to stand still or firm; con- + sistere to stand, cause to stand, stare to stand: cf. F. consister. See Stand.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Consisted; present participle & verbal noun Consisting
Definitions
  1. To stand firm; to be in a fixed or permanent state, as a body composed of parts in union or connection; to hold together; to be; to exist; to subsist; to be supported and maintained.
    He is before all things, and by him all things consist. Col. i. 17.
  2. To be composed or made up; -- followed by of.
    The land would consist of plains and valleys. T. Burnet.
  3. To have as its substance or character, or as its foundation; to be; -- followed by in.
    If their purgation did consist in words. Shak.
    A man's life consisteth not in the abudance of the things which he possesseth. Luke xii. 15.
  4. To be cosistent or harmonious; to be in accordance; -- formerly used absolutely, now followed by with.
    This was a consisting story. Bp. Burnet.
    Health consists with temperance alone. Pope.
    For orders and degrees Jar not with liberty, but well consist. Milton.
  5. To insist; -- followed by on. Obs. Shak. Syn. -- To Consist, Consist of, Consist in. The verb consist is employed chiefly for two purposes, which are marked and distinguished by the prepositions used. When we wish to indicate the parts which unite to compose a thing, we use of; as when we say, "Macaulay's Miscellanies consist chiefly of articles which were first published in the Edinburgh Review." When we wish to indicate the true nature of a thing, or that on which it depends, we use in; as, "There are some artists whose skill consists in a certain manner which they have affected." "Our safety consists in a strict adherence to duty."

Webster 1913