persevere
Americanverb (used without object)
-
perseveres,
present (3rd person singular)
-
persevered,
past participle, past
-
persevering
present participle
-
to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly.
-
to persist in speech, interrogation, argument, etc.; insist.
verb (used with object)
-
perseveres,
present (3rd person singular)
-
persevered,
past participle, past
-
persevering
present participle
verb
Usage
What does persevere mean? To persevere is to continue to do or try to achieve something despite difficulty or discouragement. A close synonym is persist. The word is typically used in a positive way to refer to the actions of someone who doesn’t give up no matter what. A person perseveres when they keep trying despite major challenges and setbacks. The noun perseverance refers to the act of persevering or the quality of those who persevere, as in You showed great perseverance by recovering from your injury to compete at an even higher level. The adjective persevering can be used to describe those who persevere or their actions, as in Without the persevering efforts of our first responders, we would not have been able to save so many lives. Example: Only if we work hard and persevere will we be able to achieve our goal—it will not be easy.
Synonym Usage
See continue.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
perseveresimple
-
perseveressimple
-
have perseveredperfect
-
has perseveredperfect
-
am perseveringprogressive
-
are perseveringprogressive
-
is perseveringprogressive
-
have been perseveringperfect progressive
-
has been perseveringperfect progressive
Past
-
perseveredsimple
-
had perseveredperfect
-
was perseveringprogressive
-
were perseveringprogressive
-
had been perseveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of persevere
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English perseveren, from Middle French perseverer, from Latin persevērāre “to persist,” derivative of persevērus “very strict”; see per-, severe
Explanation
Use the verb persevere when you want to persist in anything and continue despite difficulties or obstacles. The verb persevere comes from the Latin root persevereus which means "continue steadfastly, persist" and that word comes from two others, per- for "very" and severus for "strict." So, today, the connotation of the word is to persist in a methodical way despite obstacles or distractions. You can see the relationship between persevere and perseverate, which means "to persistently repeat something," and that word is a medical term used to describe stuttering.
Vocabulary lists containing persevere
List 2
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Things Fall Apart
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A Christmas Carol
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Driving around town, looking at the lots and the wreckage, Cooley says he started to notice the bits of nature that were trying to persevere.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
The trumpeters valiantly persevere but, by the end of the day, everyone's wrung out.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
"I was never a great student growing up, but I found martial arts really gave me the drive to persevere and do hard things," Terao said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
They’re human; they want and need, betray and boast, and persevere against the unknown in ways that we all are right now.
From Salon ● May 1, 2026
Peggy had almost persuaded him to persevere, to try for just another week, but in the end he had broken down and wept quietly and asked from the heart to be let go home.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
But he perseveres in the hope of striking it rich.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025
Knowing the Paris Games may be her last, she perseveres, training six days a week hoping to get better, to get faster, to win.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 16, 2023
For now, I will continue using Saboun Nabulsi as this ancient tradition perseveres.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2023
And yet she perseveres: She cleans her plate, she reads the book anyway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2022
The beautiful natural world of the Philippines perseveres, despite everything.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Volunteers and rescuers persevered with the grueling task of digging through the rubble, looking for any signs of life after the critical 72-hour window passed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
She persevered and graduated from a high school special education program, then attempted community college.
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
“I really gritted my teeth and persevered for 30 years before finally becoming prime minister,” Takaichi said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
He said his father "persevered through pain" following the death of Daniel, who collapsed and died suddenly when he was 15 from the genetic heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026
Although I prayed and persevered and tried my best not to worry, the reality was that once I drove outside the gates at Langley, neither my life nor the lives of my children were safe.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
Ms. Alexander, deservedly Oscar-nominated for the role, creates a grounded, subtle portrait of persevering motherhood, Carol’s husband never having returned from San Francisco and very likely dead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
If you’re suffering from the persevering cold and in need of some cooking inspiration, fret not.
From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2026
"It just goes to show you... just to keep persevering, my team and everybody behind me, it means so much to come away as Olympic champion."
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
But, wrote Clough "something told me he was worth persevering with".
From Barron's ● Dec. 25, 2025
Just like I was tired of imposing and persevering.
From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
