Meaning & use
perseverate
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Meaning
verbintransitivetechnicalmedical
To keep repeating the same word, idea, or action over and over without any good reason, long after it has stopped being relevant.
Grammar: No object; often followed by on or about: he perseverated on the mistake.
Patterns
- perseverate on something
- perseverate about something
After the stroke, the patient would perseverate, saying the same word to every question.
I tend to perseverate on small embarrassments long after everyone else has forgotten them.
Children with certain conditions may perseverate on one favorite topic for hours.
Word forms
| third person singular | perseverates |
|---|---|
| past tense | perseverated |
| past participle | perseverated |
| -ing form | perseverating |
Common combinations
- perseverate on a thought
- He would perseverate on a single thought all night.
- tend to perseverate
- People with anxiety often tend to perseverate.
- perseverate about the past
- She tried not to perseverate about the past.
- perseverate in speech
- The patient would perseverate in speech after the injury.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ruminate
- Ruminate is about turning thoughts over in the mind, while perseverate can also include repeating words or actions.
- fixate
- Fixate means to focus obsessively on one thing, but it does not stress the repeating that perseverate does.
- dwell
- Dwell is everyday and gentle, whereas perseverate sounds clinical and suggests the repetition is out of control.
Opposites
Word family
- perseveration noun
- the act or symptom of repeating involuntarily
- perseverative adjective
- marked by repetition of this kind
- persevere verb
- a different word: keep trying despite difficulty
Commonly confused: perseverate or persevere?
perseverate vs persevere
Persevere is praise for keeping on with a hard task, while perseverate is a problem of stuck, pointless repetition.
Practice
The therapist noticed that he would ___ on one worry, returning to it again and again without making progress.
Choose one answer.
Perseverate means to get stuck repeating the same thought. Persevere is tempting but means to keep going toward a goal despite difficulty, which is positive and does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “perseverate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.