# persist

> English word · Verb · IPA /pɚˈsɪst/ · frequency rank #14,381

## Definitions
1. To go on stubbornly or resolutely.
2. To repeat an utterance.
3. To continue to exist.
4. To continue to be; to remain.
5. To cause to persist; make permanent.

## Etymology
From Middle French persister (Modern French persister), from Latin persistere, from per- + sistere (“to stand”).

## Easily confused with
- **purist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/persist-vs-purist)
- **persisted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/persist-vs-persisted)
- **permit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/permit-vs-persist)
- **Persia** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/persia-vs-persist)
- **perish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-persist)
- **Persian** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/persian-vs-persist)

## Common misspellings (11)
`eprsist`, `perisst`, `perrsist`, `persisst`, `persistt`, `persits`, `perssist`, `perssit`, `pesrist`, `ppersist`, `presist`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/persist