persistent
[per-sis-tuh nt, -zis-]
- persisting, especially in spite of opposition, obstacles, discouragement, etc.; persevering: a most annoyingly persistent young man.
- lasting or enduring tenaciously: the persistent aroma of verbena; a persistent cough.
- constantly repeated; continued: persistent noise.
- Biology.
- continuing or permanent.
- having continuity of phylogenetic characteristics.
- Botany. remaining attached beyond the usual time, as flowers, flower parts, or leaves.
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Origin of persistent
Synonyms
See more synonyms for persistent on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
3. sporadic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for persistently
Contemporary Examples
This stirring moment arrives in a chapter that spotlights the highs and lows of a persistently uneven book.
Did you continue the search so persistently without any certainty of the greave being still in existence?
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the ShowRobert W. Chambers
February 20, 2014
Hemmed in by college debt and a persistently weak economy, almost 40 percent of the unemployed are between 20 and 34.
And the persistently high price of gas is pushing more Americans of all ages to use public transportation.
They know they must present their arguments clearly, passionately, and persistently.
Historical Examples
The old man has 'persistently concealed his real nature' from Betty.
The Incomplete AmoristE. Nesbit
One cannot always be original and sparkling, and it is wiser not to try too persistently.
Roden's CornerHenry Seton Merriman
A bell rang in the house, loudly, persistently, tearing its silence.
A Spirit in PrisonRobert Hichens
But the voice continued to haunt him persistently, besiegingly, despotically.
The ManxmanHall Caine
In and out of every day persistently, desperately, endlessly we seek.
The Prodigal ReturnsLilian Staveley
persistent
- showing persistence
- incessantly repeated; unrelentingyour persistent questioning
- (of plant parts) remaining attached to the plant after the normal time of witheringa fruit surrounded by a persistent perianth
- zoology
- (of parts normally present only in young stages) present in the adultpersistent gills in axolotls
- continuing to grow or develop after the normal period of growthpersistent teeth
- (of a chemical, esp when used as an insecticide) slow to break down; not easily degradable
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for persistently
persistent
adj.
1723, from persistence or from Latin persistentem (nominative persistens), present participle of persistere (see persist). Related: Persistently.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper