persist

[ per-sist, -zist ]

verb (used without object)

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

verb (used with object)

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

/ 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

Derived Forms

• perˈsister, noun

Other Words From

• per·sist·er noun
• per·sist·ing·ly adverb
• per·sis·tive adjective
• per·sis·tive·ly adverb
• per·sis·tive·ness noun
• non·per·sist·ing adjective
• un·per·sist·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of persist¹

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 ) ”

Word History and Origins

Origin of persist¹

C16: from Latin persistere, from per- (intensive) + sistere to stand steadfast, from stāre to stand

Synonym Study

See continue.

Example Sentences

She found that even after considering geographic and demographic factors, the “Rush Limbaugh effect” persists.

From Popular-Science

Ultimately they discovered that the turbulent patch persisted as long as the barrage kept coming.

From Quanta Magazine

A blunted stress response persisted into middle childhood, even after an average of seven to eight years in a household with healthy caregiving.

From Science News

This allows stable patterns of useful behavior to emerge and persist.

From Nautilus

That’s the paperwork used to report interest income — and serves as a sign that low interest rates could persist.

From Fortune

While violent offenses are dramatically down in Bed Stuy, pockets of violence persist here.

From The Daily Beast

In Sierra Leone, the WHO report reads, “steep increases persist.”

From The Daily Beast

“That said, underneath the surface differences in threat perception and how to deal with Russia persist,” he says.

From The Daily Beast

And yet the real battle might be an even harder one: against the attitudes that allow all this to persist in 21st-Century India.

From The Daily Beast

He went on to predict that Hong Kong will see “economic chaos” should the protests persist.

From The Daily Beast

This fact worried him considerably, and made him persist in his own mind that the company would accept it.

From Project Gutenberg

Typhoid bacilli have been known to persist for months and even years after the attack.

From Project Gutenberg

This habit of scribble may persist after a child attempts a linear description of the parts of an object.

From Project Gutenberg

Doubtless Schopenhauer was right: it is merely the furious determination of the race to persist.

From Project Gutenberg

I suppose you will repent, and seek forgiveness for your sins, Worse; or will you persist in putting it off?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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