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

"Our overall survival data is very promising and will hopefully persist with additional patients," Cunniff said.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

The strain on families from higher inflation could persist for some time.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

The preliminary findings said there was "insufficient clinical curiosity" in some cases and a lack of collaboration with multidisciplinary team colleagues, allowing potential diagnostic errors to persist.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

Despite the investigations and promises of reforms, critics say underlying problems persist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

And when we didn't, of course, find it anywhere in my room—although I gave a very credible, thoroughgoing search, looking even inside my tie shoes—Mami did not persist but let the matter drop.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

The fever persists despite the fact there’s no antigens left to fight.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

If the selloff persists, that could start to affect a stock-market rally that has helped support consumer spending and the artificial-intelligence spending boom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

"This work points to a completely different way of testing their possible role in cosmic history. Their descendants could leave a gravitational-wave imprint that persists all the way to the present-day Universe."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

With Iraola determined to have his wingers able to play on both sides, it remains to be seen if that experiment persists once Liverpool get more attackers in.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Benzene hexachloride persists at least eleven years; heptachlor or a more toxic derived chemical, at least nine.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Some Fed officials have lost patience with high inflation, which has persisted for more than five years and worsened this summer due to tariffs and the war with Iran.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

But he persisted, ultimately writing his thesis on baseball in the U.S. and Japan from an anthropological perspective.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Weaknesses have persisted since, the Thirwall inquiry said.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

She had already deferred her university offer for a year because of uncertainty surrounding the war, which has persisted despite an April ceasefire that halted its most intense phase.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

“Aren’t you worried that you won’t be ready when the time comes?” he persisted.

From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman

Almost six months into their war, the two sides are locked in a stalemate, with Iran keeping the key Strait of Hormuz shut and Washington persisting with a naval counter-blockade of Iran.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

“Emerging Markets continued to deliver despite the Chinese condom headwinds still persisting with broad-based momentum extending well beyond China,” they said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 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

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

The news that an alien’s dyspeptic pains were persisting did not, however, evoke any sympathetic words, and again I retreated into Trinity Street with a prescription for more white stuff.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

Related Words

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