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

Separate from the aid tent, protests at the facility persist, with a grassroots group of activists maintaining a mutual aid table of their own near the detention center.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

The result suggests that living plastics could eventually be used in products that need to remain durable for a limited time but should not persist after they are discarded.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

Despite the lofty expectations, Piper Sandler expect the earnings strength to persist through early 2027.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

That if I could only continue to practice, to work hard and pour all my love into it, I would persist.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

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

Pessimism about the economy persists across classes, puzzling economists despite healthy hiring and consumer-spending metrics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Zephirin believes shares can hit $310 while the imbalance persists.

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

The three-minute convention persists thanks in no small part to attention spans and radio playlist imperatives.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

He persisted with his ministry even as the government cracked down on Christians who worshiped outside of China’s tightly controlled system of official churches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

That instinct to buy on pullbacks has persisted in 2026.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 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

Switzerland said it was reducing operations at its Beznau plant and would shut down reactors if the heat persisted, giving similar reasons.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

But, in the morning, and for several mornings after that, the queasiness in her gut persisted, then worsened, became something dismayingly familiar.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

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

“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

With energy prices raising headline inflation, officials may not be able to tell for months whether underlying price pressures are fading, persisting or getting worse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

The sago eaters persisting in lowland swamps exemplify the nomadic hunter-gatherer band organization that must formerly have characterized all New Guineans.

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