Origin: Latin suffix -ance
Instance has 5 different meanings across 2 categories:
an item of information that is typical of a class or group
"this patient provides a typical example of the syndrome"
"there is an example on page 10"
Urgency of manner or words; an urgent request; insistence.
"His persistent instance convinced the committee to approve the emergency funding before sunset."
In plain English: An instance is a single specific occurrence of something happening.
"Each time you visit a friend counts as an instance of seeing them."
Usage: Use "instance" to refer to a specific example or occurrence of something, such as citing a particular case to support a general point. Do not use it to mean urgency or insistence, which are incorrect definitions in this context.
clarify by giving an example of
"The teacher clarified her instructions on fractions by giving an instance where they had to add a half and a quarter together."
To mention as a case or example; to refer to; to cite
"During the meeting, she paused to instance several recent failures before proposing a new safety protocol."
In plain English: To instance something is to give a specific example of it.
"The detective asked to see an instance of the witness's handwriting."
Usage: As a verb, instance means to cite a specific example to support an argument or illustrate a point. Use it when you introduce concrete evidence rather than making a general statement.
The word "instance" comes from the Middle French instance, which was borrowed from the Latin īnstantia. Originally meaning a state of being near or urgent, it traveled into English to refer to a specific example or occurrence.