Meaning & use
persistence
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Meanings
noununcountableapproving
Steady effort in continuing to do something even when it is hard or other people object.
Grammar: Not used with a: success takes persistence.
Patterns
- persistence in doing something
- persistence with something
Her persistence paid off when she got the job.
Learning the piano takes patience and persistence.
The reporter's persistence uncovered the truth.
noununcountable
The fact of something continuing to exist or happen, often longer than expected or wanted.
Grammar: Often followed by of: persistence of a problem.
Patterns
- the persistence of something
Doctors were worried by the persistence of her cough.
The persistence of poverty troubles the city.
The persistence of the fog delayed all flights.
noununcountablecomputingtechnical
The ability of data or a record to continue to exist after the program that created it has stopped.
Grammar: Used in software: data persistence.
Patterns
- persistence of data
The database offers persistence even after a crash.
Developers tested the persistence of user settings.
Browser storage gives limited persistence.
Common combinations
- sheer persistence
- Sheer persistence got her through the training.
- persistence pays off
- Persistence pays off in the end.
- dogged persistence
- His dogged persistence won the contract.
- persistence of memory
- The persistence of memory surprised the scientists.
- show persistence
- Children show persistence when they build puzzles.
Synonyms and how they differ
- perseverance
- Perseverance stresses continuing patiently toward a goal, while persistence can also sound pushy.
- determination
- Determination is about firm purpose, whereas persistence is about keeping going over time.
- tenacity
- Tenacity suggests a strong, almost stubborn grip on a goal, and is more forceful than persistence.
- stubbornness
- Stubbornness is negative and suggests refusing to change, unlike the often admired persistence.
Opposites
Word family
- persist verb
- to continue firmly
- persistent adjective
- continuing in spite of difficulty
- persistently adverb
- in a continuing way
- persistency noun
- a less common form of persistence
Commonly confused: persistence or perseverance? persistence or insistence?
persistence vs perseverance
Perseverance and persistence are close, but perseverance is always positive and persistence may annoy others.
persistence vs insistence
Insistence is demanding that something be done, while persistence is continuing to try.
Practice
After a hundred rejections, her ___ finally earned her a publishing deal.
Choose one answer.
Persistence means continuing despite difficulty, which fits many rejections. Insistence means demanding, which does not fit as well.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “persistence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.