MEANING
1. Continuing for a long time or remaining difficult to remove despite efforts or changing circumstances.
2. Continuing to act or try in a determined way despite difficulty, refusal, or opposition.
Use it for
describing a pattern that lasts across observations; distinguishing continuing inequality from a temporary fluctuation; noting a problem that resists attempts to resolve itSeparates endurance of a condition from determined repetition by an agent. Academic functions: Change / Pattern / Trend.
Words that belong together
- persistent inequality
- a persistent pattern
- persistent effects
On the page
The analysis identifies persistent differences that remain after several policy changes.
A persistent effect can vary in size rather than remain numerically constant.
Persistent questioning exposed gaps in the official explanation.
The narrative presents the investigator’s persistent efforts as both productive and intrusive.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- persistent
Usage notes
Attributive or predicative. More persistent and most persistent are natural. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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