persistence
gb/pɚsˈɪstəns/ us/pɚsˈɪstəns/
B2
English
~ 8900
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B2
property
1
firm, continued effort over time
The quality of not giving up, and continuing to try or work for a long time, even when it is hard.
Usage pattern:
persistence in [verb+ing]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes say *"persistence to do something"* instead of the more natural pattern *"persistence in doing something"*. For example, say *"her persistence in studying"*, not *"her persistence to study"*. Learners may also confuse *persistence* with *perseverance*; they are very close in meaning, but *persistence* is slightly more common in everyday speech.
Synonyms
perseverance (Very close in meaning; slightly more formal and often used in positive, moral or inspirational contexts.)
|
determination (Emphasizes strong will and decision, not only repeated effort over time.)
|
tenacity (Suggests a strong, sometimes stubborn, unwillingness to let go or stop trying.)
Antonyms
giving up (Directly contrasts with continuing effort; describes stopping when something is difficult.)
|
laziness (Opposes the idea of active, repeated effort; lack of willingness to work hard.)
|
discouragement (Describes losing confidence and desire to continue, the emotional opposite of persistence.)
Collocations
show persistence
|with persistence
|through sheer persistence
|remarkable persistence
|persistence in the face of [something]
Themes
personality
|work
|education
|emotions
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Her persistence finally paid off when she passed the exam on her third try.
- Building a successful business takes years of hard work and persistence.
- The athlete's persistence in training every day helped him return after the injury.
- He admired her persistence in learning English, even after many setbacks.
- Through sheer persistence, the team solved problems that had stopped others for years.
Learner examples
- With persistence, you can reach your goal.
- His persistence helped him get a new job.
- She showed great persistence in learning to swim.
- It takes persistence to study every day.
- They won the game because of their persistence.
Noun
C1
state
2
continued presence or duration of something
The state of something staying or lasting for a long time, not stopping or going away.
Usage pattern:
the persistence of [something]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this sense with personal effort. When talking about *persistence of symptoms/problems/etc.*, it is about how long they last, not about someone trying hard. Also, avoid saying *"the persistence is long"*; instead say *"the persistence of X is high/strong"* or *"X shows long persistence"*.
Synonyms
continuation (General word for something going on; slightly less emphasis on lasting unexpectedly long.)
|
durability (Stresses being strong enough to last, often used for materials or products.)
|
longevity (Focuses on long duration or long life, especially of people, products, or systems.)
Antonyms
disappearance (Opposite in that something stops existing or being seen instead of continuing.)
|
transience (Describes something that exists only for a short time, the opposite of lasting presence.)
|
short-livedness (Informal/derived term stressing that something does not persist for long.)
Collocations
persistence of symptoms
|persistence of problems
|persistence of inequality
|long-term persistence
|persistence over time
Themes
science
|medicine
|environment
|time
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Doctors were concerned about the persistence of his cough after several weeks.
- The persistence of economic inequality has become a major political issue.
- Climate scientists study the persistence of pollutants in the atmosphere and oceans.
- The persistence of high unemployment damaged public confidence in the government.
- Researchers found that the persistence of the virus on surfaces was lower than expected.
Learner examples
- The persistence of her fever worried the doctor.
- The persistence of the problem shows it is hard to fix.
- They talked about the persistence of poverty in the city.
- The persistence of the smell made it hard to work.
- We must reduce the persistence of waste in the ocean.
Noun
technical
C1
property
3
data remaining after program ends
In computer science, when data stays saved and can still be used after the program that made it is closed.
Usage pattern:
data persistence in [system/application]
Common mistake:
Learners may mix this technical sense with general *persistence* meaning personal effort. In computing, *persistence* almost always refers to data or storage, not to people. It is also more natural to say *"data persistence"* or *"persistent storage"* than *"persistence of the data"* in technical writing.
Synonyms
durability (Database term stressing that committed data will survive failures and remain stored.)
|
non-volatility (Hardware-focused term describing memory that keeps data without power.)
Antonyms
volatility (Refers to memory or data that is lost when power is removed or a process ends.)
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temporary storage (Describes storage that does not keep data beyond a short period or a session.)
Collocations
data persistence
|persistent storage
|ensure persistence
|session persistence
|persistence layer
Themes
technology
|computing
|software
Examples
- The application uses a database to provide data persistence across server restarts.
- Caching can improve performance, but you still need persistence for critical user data.
- They added a persistence layer so that user settings would be stored between sessions.
- In this system, session persistence ensures that users remain logged in after a page refresh.
- File-based persistence was replaced with a cloud database to improve reliability.
Learner examples
- The program needs persistence so it can save user data.
- We use a database to provide data persistence.
- Without persistence, all data is lost when you close the app.
- The team is working on the persistence layer of the system.
- Good persistence is important for user accounts and orders.
Grammar
Dictionary form
persistence
IPA
GB/pɚsˈɪstəns/
US/pɚsˈɪstəns/
Syllables & stress
per - sist - ence (3 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (per)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: persistence
- Plural: persistence
Word family
Core family
Related words
perseverance
noun B1
persevere
verb B2
Advanced or less common
persistency
noun
Expressions
persistence of vision
3/pɚsˈɪstəns əv vˈɪʒən/
fixed phrase
technical
visual image lasting after stimulus
A visual effect where you still see an image for a short time after the object or light is gone.
Examples
- Early film makers used the persistence of vision to create the feeling of smooth movement.
- The illusion relies on the persistence of vision in the human eye.
- Because of persistence of vision, a fast series of pictures looks like continuous motion.
persistence pays off
1/pɚsˈɪstəns pˈeɪz ˈɔf/
fixed phrase
continued effort eventually brings success
If you keep trying for a long time, you will finally get a good result.
Examples
- It took her years to get promoted, but her persistence paid off in the end.
- Keep studying; your persistence will pay off when you pass the exam.
- His persistence paid off when the investors finally agreed to support the project.
through sheer persistence
2/θɹˈu ʃˈɪɹ pɚsˈɪstəns/
fixed phrase
only thanks to strong persistence
Because someone kept trying again and again, even when it was very hard, and for no other reason.
Examples
- She learned the language through sheer persistence, not natural talent.
- They survived the crisis through sheer persistence and hard work.
- He finished the marathon through sheer persistence, even after he felt like stopping.