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
"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
You've got to work hard and do it yourself and persevere at the end of the day, and if you keep working hard it will pay off.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Yet this same soldier had gained a new resolve to persevere.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Fortunately for the rest of us, Wylie perseveres.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Meantime, Stafford perseveres without his two top targets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2024
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
He finds watercolors difficult, but with Mauves tutelage he perseveres.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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
Warwickshire's seamers persevered nobly, with Ethan Bamber and Beau Webster most threatening, but the fourth-wicket pair batted with solid technique and total concentration.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
He’d recently been nervous about starting a new activity, but he’d persevered, and so I said to him, “I’m proud of how well you dealt with that challenge.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
Still, my mother persevered, awash in the delusion that I had kept my popularity secret from her all these years.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
"The work you do in there isn't easy -- the dust, the smell of dead people who are already decomposing. But here we are, persevering," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Despite the uncertainty, families, businesses and community members remain committed to adapting and persevering in the new normal.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
As it happens, Mr. Fox has found enough staunchly persevering or recently revived craft workshops to buoy his spirits—and ours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Mikkelsen, of the Humboldt Bay Harbor District, said he has no qualms about persevering, even in the face of such federal setbacks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
I considered not imposing upon George LaTrell, because the truth is that in addition to being tired of persevering, I was also tired of imposing.
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.
