# persist

/pɝˈsɪst/ (US) · /pəsˈɪst/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/persist
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. to keep trying

verb · CEFR B2

to continue doing something in a determined way, even if people try to stop you or it is very hard.

For teachers: to continue steadfastly or obstinately in an opinion or course of action, especially in the face of opposition.

- If you persist in making so much noise, I will have to ask you to leave the library.
- Despite several rejections from major publishers, the author persisted in submitting her manuscript until she finally secured a contract.

Usage: Usually takes the preposition 'in' followed by a noun or gerund.

### 2. to continue existing

verb · CEFR B2

to continue to exist or happen, especially for longer than is usual or expected.

For teachers: to remain in existence; to endure or stay present over a period of time.

- The cold weather is likely to persist for the rest of the week.
- Economists warn that inflationary pressures may persist well into the next fiscal year despite the central bank's recent interventions.

Usage: Intransitive; does not take a direct object.

### 3. to save data

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to save information permanently so it is still there after a computer or program is turned off.

For teachers: to store data in a non-volatile way so that it remains available across different sessions or after a system restart.

- The application needs to persist the user's settings to the database.
- The framework automatically persists state changes to the local storage to ensure no progress is lost during a crash.

Usage: Can be used transitively in technical contexts to mean 'to cause to persist'.

Teaching tip: This is a specialized sense used by software developers; in general English, 'save' is the standard term.

## Examples

- If the symptoms persist for more than three days, see a doctor.
- Despite several failed attempts to fix the bug, the developers decided to persist until they found the root cause.
- The challenge for modern database architecture is ensuring that critical transaction records persist even in the event of a sudden hardware failure or power loss.

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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.