May we count your visit with Google Analytics? It uses cookies and sends visit data to Google. You can change this any time under Cookie choices. Privacy

 Browse the A to Z list

Persistent

adj. resilient, capable professional

What it means

Continuing steadily toward a purpose despite resistance, delay, or repeated difficulty.

Reach for it when praising goal-directed effort that remains appropriate and welcome

The persistent volunteer called every supplier until the shelter had enough blankets.

Words to choose between 8

By register, from playful at the top to literary at the bottom. Tap a word to see when it fits.
everyday
warm
professional
formal
literary

  • everyday

    insistent

    Fits when someone repeatedly presses a point that must be heard

    Careful It often suggests unwelcome pressure and should not replace positive persistence casually.

  • warm

    determined

    Fits when a firm decision supplies the continuing effort

    Careful Do not choose it if repetition occurs from habit without a clear intention.

  • professional

    relentless

    Fits when effort is unusually intense and almost uninterrupted

    Careful Relentless can make a person's persistence sound exhausting or threatening.

  • professional

    tenacious

    Fits when someone holds firmly to a difficult goal

    Not when the persistence ignores a boundary or refusal; that is intrusive.

  • formal

    persevering

    Fits when endurance through setbacks deserves the emphasis

    Careful It is not for repeated demands directed at an unwilling person.

  • formal

    resolute

    Fits when firmness in a decision matters more than repeated action

    Careful Resolute does not by itself show that someone kept trying over time.

  • literary

    dogged

    Fits when stubborn-seeming effort succeeds against long odds

    Careful The word can imply grim inflexibility, so it may not read as wholly positive.

  • literary

    steadfast

    Fits when loyalty to a purpose or principle does not waver

    Careful Avoid it for merely frequent action that changes direction often.

Opposites 3

  • wavering
  • inconstant
  • easily discouraged

Common phrases 3

  • persistent effort

    Persistent effort turned a rough prototype into a dependable tool.

  • persistent advocate

    The persistent advocate kept the accessibility request on every agenda.

  • remain persistent

    You can remain persistent while still respecting a clear no.

Word family 1

Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated