persist

American  

[per-sist, -zist] / pərˈsɪst, -ˈzɪst /

verb (used without object)

persists, present (3rd person singular) persisted, past participle, past persisting present participle

1. to continue steadfastly or firmly in some state, purpose, course of action, or the like, especially in spite of opposition, remonstrance, etc..

   to persist in working for world peace;

   to persist in unpopular political activities.

2. to last or endure tenaciously.

   The legend of King Arthur has persisted for nearly fifteen centuries.

3. to be insistent in a statement, request, question, etc.

   Synonyms:

   insist

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verb (used with object)

persists, present (3rd person singular) persisted, past participle, past persisting present participle

1. Computers. to cause (a record, configuration, value, etc.) to be written to permanent storage by the scripted process that created it, so that it continues to exist in the same state after the script has finished running.

persist British  

/ pəˈsɪst /

verb

1. (often foll by in) to continue steadfastly or obstinately despite opposition or difficulty

2. to continue to exist or occur without interruption

   the rain persisted throughout the night

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Synonym Usage

See continue.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• persister
  noun
• persistiveness
  noun
• nonpersisting
  adjective
• persistive
  adjective
• unpersisting
  adjective
• persistingly
  adverb
• persistively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• persisting
  present
• persisted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• persist
  simple
• persists
  simple
• have persisted
  perfect
• has persisted
  perfect
• am persisting
  progressive
• are persisting
  progressive
• is persisting
  progressive
• have been persisting
  perfect progressive
• has been persisting
  perfect progressive

Past

• persisted
  simple
• had persisted
  perfect
• was persisting
  progressive
• were persisting
  progressive
• had been persisting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will persist
  simple
• will have persisted
  perfect
• will be persisting
  progressive
• will have been persisting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of persist

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin persistere, literally, “to stand firm permanently,” equivalent to per- per- ( def. ) + sistere “to (cause to) stand,” akin to stāre “to stand ( def. ) ”

Explanation

When someone persists they keep going or hang on. If you want to finish a marathon, you have to persist and keep running, no matter how many blisters you have. The great Roman poet Ovid once advised: “Endure and persist, this pain will turn good by and by.” As Ovid’s quote hints at, persistence is often associated with hardship and the reward that comes with not backing down. Synonyms include endure, follow through, and persevere, while antonyms include cease and give up.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

persist persists persisted persisting

Executives at Micron Technology said last month that tight conditions would persist beyond 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

However, current forecasts suggest "exceptional" wildfire danger could persist across East Anglia by Wednesday.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

So some anatomical features persist despite offering limited benefit.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

The CPC also put the odds at 97 percent that the event will persist through early spring 2027.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

A Chilean scientist has pointed out that malaria-carrying mosquitoes persist in his country in spite of insecticide treatment; the release of sterile males might then provide the final blow needed to eliminate this population.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

While nearly 30 unloaded VLCCs, the largest type of tanker, are still heading toward the Middle East Gulf, more vessels could divert or delay voyages in the coming days if the fighting persists, she said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

If it persists, you may want to take some chips off the table and/or buy hedges as portfolio insurance.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

"However, the geopolitical situation remains uncertain. The risk of strong upward pressure thus persists," the bank said.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

But the question persists: What, exactly, sent them to the bottom of the ocean?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

But it persists still through the whole night.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

But even if an A$8.50/GJ spot price persisted longer term, Amplitude’s base business would still be worth A$2.08/share, says Euroz Hartleys.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

That instinct to buy on pullbacks has persisted in 2026.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

He was treated, but the couple's fertility problems persisted.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

That was the Great Recession, which started with the 2008 crash in the housing market and persisted into 2012.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

When Harris persisted in denouncing the Vietnam War, he was hissed into silence by the crowd.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

If Sapiens women had, in fact, regularly entered Neanderthal groups, we would expect to see a recent genetic signal of Sapiens ancestry persisting among the last Neanderthals.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026

With the heat persisting into Tuesday across south-eastern areas, some locations may enter official heatwave conditions with temperatures above 27C or 28C for three consecutive days.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

"We have evidence that terrorist content and illegal hate speech is persisting on some of the largest social media sites," said Oliver Griffiths, Ofcom's online safety director.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

“Retail participation in levered index products has come in, and we think persisting interest in sector trading will result in more violent thematic moves under the hood,” said the Goldman team.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026

Once China was finally unified, in 221 B.C., no other independent state ever had a chance of arising and persisting for long in China.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• carry on
• carry over
• continue
• endure
• go on
• linger
• persevere
• prevail
• pursue
• recur
• remain