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

Physicists at the University of Oxford have helped demonstrate that one of quantum physics' strangest phenomena, quantum entanglement, can persist even among some of the heaviest and shortest-lived particles ever produced.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Connecting ancient genomes with recorded outbreaks and possible animal reservoirs can reveal how diseases emerge, spread, establish themselves, and persist over long periods.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Supply constraints could peak in Malaysia and Thailand this year before easing as new generation capacity comes online, but pressure could persist into 2027.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

To Pocock, this unflagging resilience—this readiness to bounce back, to keep coming, to persist in the face of resistance—was the magic in cedar, the unseen force that imparted life to the shell.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

Manufacturing orders in Germany climbed again in July, another signal of the country’s tentative industrial recovery that is defying the impact of surging energy prices as the conflict in the Middle East persists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 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

The pond at Pond Farm on Wisley Common, adjacent to RHS Garden Wisley, has been drying up over recent weeks as the hot weather persists.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

“You know what Orlando, Florida, was before Disney found it?” my father persists.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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

Weaknesses have persisted since, the Thirwall inquiry said.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

U.S. forces remained engaged in a low-level fight against Islamic terrorists there that persisted for two decades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 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

“Just stay for dinner, then,” she persisted when Ma turned her down.

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds

After six months of war, the foes remain at an impasse, with Iran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and the United States persisting with a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

I am 100% aware that you don’t mention money, but it seems like you would be staring a gift horse in the mouth by persisting with this argument.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 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 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