persistence

/pəˈsɪst(ə)ns/

//pəˈsɪst(ə)ns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"persistence" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“persistence” has 18 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,808. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,808
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
18
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The property of being persistent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-persistence · persistence · English

persistence · rank #14,808 · 18 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #14,808
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 18 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH perennial

Nearest frequency peer: perennial (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “persistence”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “persistence” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

persistence vs persistent
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for persistence
PropertyValue
Headwordpersistence
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈsɪst(ə)ns/
Letters11
Frequency rank#14,808
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “persistence”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).persistencelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “perennial” (#14,807), “Piers” (#14,809), “parenthood” (#14,806). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “persistence” is #14,808. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around persistence (IPA /pəˈsɪst(ə)ns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,808 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for persistence, with forms such as "eprsistence", "perisstence", and "perrsistence". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "persistent", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French persistance. The correct English form is persistence, spelled P-E-R-S-I-S-T-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The property of being persistent.
  2. 2
    Of data, the property of continuing to exist after the termination of the program.
  3. 3
    Continuation of the previous day's weather (particularly temperature and precipitation statistics).
  4. 4
    The number of times an operation can be iteratively applied to a number before it reaches a permanently constant state.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how persistence appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. You've got to admire her persistence. She's asked him out every day for a month even though she keeps turning him down.
  2. The Thaumatrope was based on the persistence of vision. The disc of card was rotated so rapidly by means of threads attached to it that the eye saw both sides of the card simultaneously.

Etymology

From Middle French persistance.

Synonyms

persistency

This word in other languages

persistencia(Español)persistance(Français)Ausdauer(Deutsch)persistência(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eprsistence
  • perisstence
  • perrsistence
  • persisetnce
  • persisstence
  • persistance
  • persistecne
  • persistencce
  • persistenec
  • persistennce
  • persistnece
  • persisttence
  • persitsence
  • perssistence
  • perssitence
  • pesristence
  • ppersistence
  • presistence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of persistence - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

eprsistence2perisstence2perrsistence1persisetnce2persisstence1persistance1persistecne2persistencce1
Edit distance from "persistence"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "persistence"?
"persistence" is spelled P-E-R-S-I-S-T-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈsɪst(ə)ns/.
What does "persistence" mean?
As a noun, "persistence" means: The property of being persistent.
What words are commonly confused with "persistence"?
"persistence" is commonly confused with "persistent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "persistence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "persistence" is /pəˈsɪst(ə)ns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "persistence"?
From Middle French persistance. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "persistence", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

interviewer#14,777speculative#14,842trustworthy#14,857disciplined#14,741

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

ridiculously18 variantsdiscriminate18 variantsexpenditures18 variantsencyclopedia18 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list