Persist Meaning
/pɚˈsɪst/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo go on stubbornly or resolutely.
verbTo repeat an utterance.
Sentence Examples
You should persist in your efforts to learn English.
The anthropologist says odd customs do persist in the region.
Why do you persist in blaming yourself for what happened?
CEFR Practice Quiz
Despite the intense pain in his leg, the runner decided to ____ and finish the marathon.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The symptoms continued to ____ despite the medication, so the doctor ordered further tests.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French persister (Modern French persister), from Latin persistere, from per- + sistere (“to stand”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"There is a way in which Britain is certain to have war and its horrors and calamities; it is this--by persisting in her present course of unpreparedness, her apathy, unintelligence, and blindness, and in her disregard of the warnings of the most ordinary political insight, as well as of the example of history."
— 1912, Norman Angell, Peace Theories and the Balkan War:
"Much of this prejudice, indeed, persists; for instance, in the heavy handicappings with which insurance companies saddle their West Indian policies, […]"
— 1868, The British and Foreign Medico-chirurgical Review, page 238:
"Throughout the period, toothy giants persisted in the oceans. Perhaps the most spectacular was the megalodon shark."
— 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 139:
"This would not be saved after his session terminates because we don't have an actual user identity to allow us to persist the settings."
— 2006, Marco Bellinaso, ASP.NET 2.0 Website Programming:
"While hashtags aren't formally part of Twitter, some clients, such as Tweetdeck, will persist hashtags across replies to create a sort of message threading."
— 2009, Alistair Croll, Sean Power, Complete Web Monitoring:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Despite the intense pain in his leg, the runner decided to ____ and finish the marathon.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The symptoms continued to ____ despite the medication, so the doctor ordered further tests.