# persevere

/pɝsəˈvɪɹ/ (US) · /pˌɜːsɪvˈiə/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/persevere
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 2. to remain constant

verb · CEFR C2 · Archaic

to stay the same or remain in a certain state for a long time.

For teachers: to remain constant or continue in a specific state. This usage is no longer found in contemporary English.

- The old customs persevere in this small village.
- The ancient traditions persevere within the isolated community, largely untouched by the rapid industrialisation of the surrounding provinces.

## Examples

- You must persevere if you want to finish the race.
- The small startup had to persevere through several months of financial losses before finally securing a major investor.
- Despite the initial setbacks and the skepticism of his peers, the researcher chose to persevere with his hypothesis, eventually proving its validity through rigorous experimentation.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.