Con·sist v. i. [imp. & p. p. Consisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Consisting.]
 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 abundance of the things which he possesseth.   --Luke xii. 15.
 4. To be consistent 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.]
 Syn: -- To Consist, Consist of, Consist in.
 Usage: 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.”
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