perseverate
Americanverb (used without object)
Usage
What does perseverate mean? To perseverate is to repeat something, such as words or actions, over and over again.Perseverate is used both in a general sense and in the more specific contexts of psychology and speech pathology. In this sense, the act of perseveration is the persistent repetition of a word, gesture, or act. This can be the result of a brain injury or a condition like schizophrenia.Example: I’m frustrated by the degree to which I have to perseverate just to get the students to follow simple rules.
Other Word Forms
- perseverative adjective
Etymology
Origin of perseverate
First recorded in 1910–15; back formation from perseveration
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.
Does she shrug stuff off, or perseverate at 3 a.m.?
From Washington Post
Moreover, this isn't just about finding something better to do than perseverate about an exclusion that won't actually happen.
From Washington Post
I don’t mean for you to clear your schedule and perseverate; quite the contrary.
From Washington Post
He would break things — “usually a lamp” — and perseverate on what seemed to him a streak of awful luck.
From New York Times
“She tends to perseverate on contact with her family,” Smith said.
From Seattle Times
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.
