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

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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. ) ”

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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

If dry conditions persist, rivers, reservoirs and groundwater levels can also fall, putting pressure on water supplies.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

The longer diesel cost pressures persist, the more likely they’ll be “baked into contracts between carriers and shippers and eventually find their way into consumer prices,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

They can fade over the course of weeks to months, but if patches persist and spread, it could be a sign of acne, which dermatologists consider a medical condition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Longer studies would need to demonstrate that its benefits persist and translate into better joint health and fewer surgical procedures.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Some syllabaries persist today, the most important being the kana syllabary that the Japanese use for telegrams, bank statements, and texts for blind readers.

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

If she persists, you may wish to make it clear that being single and without children does not mean that you have to abide by other people’s wishes.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

More than with Alzheimer’s, in which personality tends to be preserved even as memory fades, FTD pierces the illusion of a continuous identity that persists through life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Along with the technicolor mural, Caland’s singular sensibility persists in scattered drawings, a bouquet of her preferred 30-inch paintbrushes and a pair of stiff-backed pews.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

The bacterium still persists in natural rodent reservoirs in several regions.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

“Partly on his interest being focussed on what he calls ‘the soul,’ which he persists in regarding as an entity independent of the physical environment, whereas, as I tried to point out to him ...”

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

During the recent international break, many of the ideas we saw during the World Cup and prior have persisted.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

After a very strong spring and early summer, stocks stalled through August as skepticism persisted about the longevity of the current cycle with its explosive revenue growth and enormous margins.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

In this case, however, the researchers found that the coherent behavior persisted up to 100 degrees above absolute zero.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

It started a blockade and a devastating air campaign that persisted until a 2022 truce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

They persisted, however, because they knew that Sargo and his sidekick Luna were worth tracking.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

The likelihood of El Nino persisting through February 2027 is now close to 100%, according to new forecasts from the World Meteorological Organization, a UN agency.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

What it shows is inflation persisting well above the central bank’s 2% goal for the sixth year running.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

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

And the report highlighted the dangerous combination of persisting financial vulnerabilities and the "exuberant risk appetite" in financial markets, warning the situation "could unwind abruptly".

From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 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

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Related Words

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

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