persistent

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

per·sis·tent

(pər-sĭs′tənt)

adj.

1. Refusing to give up or let go; persevering obstinately.

2. Insistently repetitive or continuous: a persistent honking of car horns.

3. Existing or remaining in the same state for an indefinitely long time; enduring: persistent rumors; a persistent infection.

4. Botany Lasting past maturity without falling off, as the calyx on an eggplant or the scales of a pine cone.

5. Zoology Retained permanently, rather than disappearing in an early stage of development: the persistent gills of fishes.

per·sis′tent·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

persistent

(pəˈsɪstənt)

adj

1. showing persistence

2. incessantly repeated; unrelenting: your persistent questioning.

3. (Botany) (of plant parts) remaining attached to the plant after the normal time of withering: a fruit surrounded by a persistent perianth.

4. (Zoology) zoology

a. (of parts normally present only in young stages) present in the adult: persistent gills in axolotls.

b. continuing to grow or develop after the normal period of growth: persistent teeth.

5. (Environmental Science) (of a chemical, esp when used as an insecticide) slow to break down; not easily degradable. Also (rare): persistive

perˈsistently, perˈsistingly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

per•sist•ent

(pərˈsɪs tənt, -ˈzɪs-)

adj.

1. persisting stubbornly; insistent.

2. lasting or enduring tenaciously.

3. constantly repeated.

4. Biol.

a. continuing or permanent.

b. having continuity of phylogenetic traits.

5. Bot. remaining attached beyond the usual time, as flowers or leaves.

[1820–30; < Late Latin persistent- (s. of persistēns), present participle of persistere to persist]

per•sist′ent•ly, adv.

syn: See stubborn.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	persistent - never-ceasing; "the relentless beat of the drums" relentless, unrelenting continual - occurring without interruption; chiefly restricted to what recurs regularly or frequently in a prolonged and closely spaced series; "the continual banging of the shutters"
	2.	persistent - continually recurring to the mind; "haunting memories"; "the cathedral organ and the distant voices have a haunting beauty"- Claudia Cassidy haunting unforgettable - impossible to forget
	3.	persistent - retained; not shed; "persistent leaves remain attached past maturity"; "the persistent gills of fishes" lasting biological science, biology - the science that studies living organisms caducous, shed - shed at an early stage of development; "most amphibians have caducous gills"; "the caducous calyx of a poppy"
	4.	persistent - stubbornly unyielding; "dogged persistence"; "dour determination"; "the most vocal and pertinacious of all the critics"; "a mind not gifted to discover truth but tenacious to hold it"- T.S.Eliot; "men tenacious of opinion" dogged, dour, pertinacious, unyielding, tenacious obstinate, stubborn, unregenerate - tenaciously unwilling or marked by tenacious unwillingness to yield

persistent

adjective

1. continuous, constant, relentless, lasting, repeated, endless, perpetual, continual, never-ending, interminable, unrelenting, incessant, unremitting flooding caused by persistent rain
continuous occasional, irregular, periodic, intermittent, off-and-on, inconstant

2. determined, dogged, fixed, steady, enduring, stubborn, persevering, resolute, tireless, tenacious, steadfast, obstinate, indefatigable, immovable, assiduous, obdurate, stiff-necked, unflagging, pertinacious He phoned again this morning - he's very persistent.
determined yielding, flexible, changeable, tractable, irresolute

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

persistent

adjective

1. Firm or obstinate, as in making a demand or maintaining a stand:

importunate, importune, insistent, urgent.

2. Existing or occurring without interruption or end:

3. Existing or remaining in the same state for an indefinitely long time:

abiding, continuing, durable, enduring, lasting, long-lasting, long-lived, long-standing, old, perdurable, perennial, permanent.

4. Of long duration:

chronic, continuing, lingering, prolonged, protracted.

5. Difficult to alleviate or cure:

obstinate, pertinacious, stubborn.

Translations

مُثابِر، مُواظِب على، مُصَمِّممُصِرٌّ

neustálývytrvalý

konstantuophørligvedholdende

beharrlich ständig hartnäckig ausdauernd

επίμονος

persistente insistente

itsepintainen

persistant tenace

uporan

òrautseigur; òrjóskur

persistente

持続性の長引く頑固ないつまでも続くしつこい

끈덕진

trdovratenvztrajen

enträgen

ที่ยังคงอยู่

ısrarlı inatçı

dai dẳng

坚持不懈的坚持的

persistent

[pəˈsɪstənt]

A. ADJ

1. (= tenacious) [person] → insistente
he is most persistent → es muy insistente

2. (= continuing) [rumours, rain, headache] → persistente; [problem] → continuo, que persiste

3. (= repeated, constant) [questions, refusal, denial] → continuo, constante
despite our persistent warnings → a pesar de nuestras continuas advertencias

B. CPD persistent offender N → multirreincidente mf, delincuente mf habitual
persistent vegetative state N → estado m vegetativo persistente

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

persistent

[pə^rˈsɪstənt] adj

(= constant) [smell, noise, rain] → persistant(e); [problem] → persistant(e); [pain, headache, cough] → persistant, tenace; [failure] → persistant(e)

[rumours, reports] → persistant(e)

[person] → persévérant(e)
He phoned again this morning. He's very persistent → Il a encore téléphoné ce matin. Il est très persévérant.
to be a persistent critic of sth → être un critique acharné de qch persistent offender

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

persistent

adj (= tenacious) demands, questions → beharrlich; person, smell → hartnäckig; attempts, efforts → ausdauernd; (= repeated, constant) drinking, drinker → gewohnheitsmäßig; nagging, lateness, threats → ständig; report → wiederholt; rumour, problems → anhaltend; cheerfulness → gleichbleibend; (= continuing) rain, illness, pain, noise → anhaltend; worry → nicht nachlassend; persistent offender → Wiederholungstäter(in) m(f); despite our persistent warnings … → obwohl wir sie/ihn etc immer wieder gewarnt haben …; persistent vegetative state (Med) → waches Koma, Wachkoma nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

persistent

[pəˈsɪst/ənt] adj (person, attempt, questions) → insistente, ostinato/a; (cough, pain, smell) → persistente; (lateness, rain) → continuo/a
persistent offender (Law) → delinquente m/f abituale

persist

(pəˈsist) verb

to keep doing, thinking etc in spite of opposition or difficulty; to continue asking, persuading etc. It will not be easy but you will succeed if you persist; He didn't want to tell her, but she persisted (in asking).

perˈsistent adjective

She was persistent in her demands/denials; persistent questions.

perˈsistently adverb

perˈsistence noun

persistent

→ مُصِرٌّ neustálý vedholdende beharrlich επίμονος persistente itsepintainen tenace uporan persistente 持続性の 끈덕진 vasthoudend iherdig uporczywy persistente упорный enträgen ที่ยังคงอยู่ ısrarlı dai dẳng 坚持不懈的

persistent

a. perseverante, persistente, insistente, constante.

persistent

adj persistente

References in classic literature ?

When I found Missis was sot the contrar, dat ar was conscience more yet,--cause fellers allers gets more by stickin' to Missis' side,--so yer see I 's persistent either way, and sticks up to conscience, and holds on to principles.

View in context

The chief pleasure and necessity of such men, when they encounter anyone who shows animation, is to flaunt their own dreary, persistent activity.

View in context

Then I had simply to fight against their persistent fingers for my levers, and at the same time feel for the studs over which these fitted.

View in context

And how persistent, how insolent are your sallies, and at the same time what a scare you are in!

View in context

Lately, he had as- sured himself that the altered comrade would not tantalize him with a persistent curiosity, but he felt certain that during the first period of leisure his friend would ask him to relate his adventures of the previous day.

View in context

It is a sort of steady, persistent, overwhelming, endlessly driving downpour, which makes your heart sick, and opens it to dismal forebodings.

View in context

Dorothy and Toto and the shaggy man came to a halt before the little boy, who kept on digging in a sober and persistent fashion.

View in context

Ever are there but few of those whose hearts have persistent courage and exuberance; and in such remaineth also the spirit patient.

View in context

"Alexey Alexandrovitch," she said, looking at him and not dropping her eyes under his persistent gaze at her hair, "I'm a guilty woman, I'm a bad woman, but I am the same as I was, as I told you then, and I have come to tell you that I can change nothing."

View in context

But next morning--for his conscience was one of those persistent consciences--he began to have doubts again.

View in context

This was the first suspicious occurrence that Tarzan had ever witnessed in connection with Gernois' actions, but he was positive that the men had left the barroom solely because Gernois had caught Tarzan's eyes upon them; then there was the persistent impression of familiarity about the stranger to further augment the ape-man's belief that here at length was something which would bear watching.

View in context

Among these terrors, and the brood belonging to them, the Doctor walked with a steady head: confident in his power, cautiously persistent in his end, never doubting that he would save Lucie's husband at last.