See Also: persist(dictionary)
persist(dictionary)

persist (iou)



persist verb. M16.
[Latin persistere, formed as PER-1 + sistere stand.]
verb intrans. Continue firmly or obstinately in or in a state, opinion, course of action, etc., esp. against opposition. Also foll. by to do, with. M16.
J. London Why do you persist in writing such things? A. Paton The dogs were fierce..but he persisted. L. Namier Rutland..had already once refused, and did so again; still Pulteney persisted. M. Bradbury Having bound themselves by marriage, they persist with it.
b. verb intrans. Be insistent in or in a statement or question. L17.
Goldsmith [Callisthenes] persisted in his innocence to the last.
c. verb trans. With direct speech as obj.: continue an argument etc. by saying. M19.
A. Brookner 'But what about your boyfriend?' Caroline persisted.
verb intrans. With adjective or noun compl.: remain, continue to be. M16-E18.
Milton But they persisted deaf, and would not seem To count them things worth notice.
verb intrans. Continue in existence; last, endure. M18.
T. Ireland Her private sense of alienation from her father still persisted. A. Bishop The..financial worry, though now less pressing, persisted.
persister noun (a) rare a person who persists; (b) Biology a bacterium which continues to live in the presence of enough antibiotic to kill most members of its species: M18.
persistingly adverb in a persisting manner M19.
persistive adjective having the quality of persisting E17.