persist

persist — verb

1. to remain present or keep affecting people instead of ending, often longer than

1.verbintransitiveC2
Definition

to remain present or keep affecting people instead of ending, often longer than expected.

Example

The smell of smoke persisted in the curtains for three days.

subject often a smell, pain, or problem

Even after the medicine, Maya's knee pain persisted through the weekend.

Common collocations
  • pain persists
  • smell persists
  • problem persists
  • doubt persists
  • traffic persists
Synonyms
  • remain

    more neutral and broader; it does not strongly suggest that something should have ended

  • last

    focuses on duration in time

  • continue

    broad and neutral; it lacks the idea of lingering on undesirably

  • linger

    often suggests a slow, noticeable staying-on effect

Antonyms
  • end

    stop completely

  • fade

    become weaker and slowly disappear

  • disappear

    go away entirely

Grammar Patterns

something persists

persist for + period

Usage Note

Subject is usually a problem, pain, smell, doubt, or other unwanted condition. Distinguish from sense 2: sense 1 describes something that remains; sense 2 describes someone choosing to go on.

Common Mistakes

The fever persisted him all week.
The fever persisted all week.
this sense is intransitive, so it does not take a direct object.
She persisted sad after the funeral.
Her sadness persisted after the funeral.
use a noun for the feeling or situation that remains.

2. to keep doing or saying something after other people tell you to stop, often in

2.verbintransitiveC2
Definition

to keep doing or saying something after other people tell you to stop, often in a stubborn way.

Example

Despite three warnings, Owen persisted in parking outside the fire gate.

persist in + -ing

After the refund offer, Rina persisted with her complaint to the manager.

persist with + noun

Common collocations
  • persist in asking
  • persist in doing something
  • persist with a complaint
  • persist with a request
  • persist despite warnings
Synonyms
  • insist

    often focuses on strongly saying that something must happen or is true

  • continue

    more neutral; it does not always suggest stubbornness

  • stick to

    common in everyday English for not changing a plan or idea

  • persevere

    more positive; it usually suggests admirable effort through difficulty

Antonyms
  • give up

    stop trying

  • drop

    decide not to continue with a plan, demand, or complaint

  • back down

    stop insisting after opposition

Grammar Patterns

persist in doing something

persist with something

Usage Note

Often followed by in + -ing or with + noun. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense usually has a person or group as the subject and suggests deliberate stubbornness, not a condition simply remaining.

Common Mistakes

Lena persisted to call him after midnight.
Lena persisted in calling him after midnight.
this sense usually takes in + -ing, not a to-infinitive.
I persisted my teacher to change the grade.
I kept asking my teacher to change the grade.
persist does not take a direct object meaning 'persuade someone'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Persist, remain, last, and continue can all describe something that does not end, but persist often suggests that it stays longer than people want or expect. Remain is the broadest and most neutral choice: a stain can remain on a shirt, or two tickets can remain. Last often focuses on length of time. Continue simply means that something goes on, without the extra feeling that it should have stopped. Because of that, persist is especially common with problems, pain, smells, or doubts. You might say, 'The meeting continued after lunch,' but 'The cough persisted for weeks' suggests a more worrying situation.

persist ↗remain ↗lastcontinue ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

Phrases

  • persist for years
  • persist over time

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Persist comes from the Latin verb persistere, which meant to keep standing firmly or keep going. The first part, per-, adds the idea of going right through, and sistere means to cause to stand. That history helps explain why modern English persist can describe either something that will not go away or a person who refuses to stop.