persist
per·sist/pɚˈsɪst/verb
persist is spelled P-E-R-S-I-S-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables (per·sist). It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, persist means “To go on stubbornly or resolutely” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in persist?
| Letters | 7: P-E-R-S-I-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: per·sist |
| In writing | 3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is persist?
Persist appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce persist?
- US /pɚˈsɪst/
- UK /pəˈsɪst/
Persist has 2 syllables, split per·sist in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-persist.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with persist?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as persist from its last stressed vowel (/ɪst/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of persist
- persists present, singular, he/she/it
- persisting participle, present
- persisted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does persist mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To go on stubbornly or resolutely.
- 2
To repeat an utterance.
- 3
To continue to exist.
- 4
obsoleteTo continue to be; to remain.
- 5
To cause to persist; make permanent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Persist in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense continue to exist:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does persist come from?
From Middle French persister (Modern French persister), from Latin persistere, from per- + sistere (“to stand”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).