Synonyms for persistent
pərˈsɪs tənt, -ˈzɪs-per·sis·tent

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.2 / 5 votes

1. persistent

   The headstrong person is not to be stopped in his own course of action, while the obstinate and stubborn is not to be driven to another's way. The headstrong act; the obstinate and stubborn may simply refuse to stir. The most amiable person may be obstinate on some one point; the stubborn person is for the most part habitually so; we speak of obstinate determination, stubborn resistance. Stubborn is the term most frequently applied to the lower animals and inanimate things. Refractory implies more activity of resistance; the stubborn horse balks; the refractory animal plunges, rears, and kicks; metals that resist ordinary processes of reduction are termed refractory. One is obdurate who adheres to his purpose in spite of appeals that would move any tender-hearted or right-minded person. Contumacious refers to a proud and insolent defiance of authority, as of the summons of a court. Pertinacious demand is contrasted with obstinate refusal. The unyielding conduct which we approve we call decided, firm, inflexible, resolute; that which we condemn we are apt to term headstrong, obstinate, stubborn. Compare PERVERSE.

   Synonyms:
   contumacious, decided, determined, dogged, firm, fixed, headstrong, heady, immovable, indomitable, inflexible, intractable, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, pertinacious, refractory, resolute, resolved, stubborn, unconquerable, unflinching, unyielding

   Antonyms:
   amenable, complaisant, compliant, docile, dutiful, gentle, irresolute, obedient, pliable, pliant, submissive, teachable, tractable, undecided, wavering, yielding

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. persistent, relentless, unrelentingadjective

   never-ceasing

   "the relentless beat of the drums"

   Synonyms:
   unappeasable, inexorable, lasting, unrelenting, tenacious, relentless, dour, haunting, stern, unyielding, grim, dogged, unforgiving, brutal, pertinacious

   Antonyms:
   caducous, sporadic, deciduous, forgettable, docile, shed

2. haunting, persistentadjective

   continually recurring to the mind

   "haunting memories"; "the cathedral organ and the distant voices have a haunting beauty"- Claudia Cassidy

   Synonyms:
   lasting, unrelenting, tenacious, relentless, dour, haunting, unyielding, dogged, pertinacious

   Antonyms:
   sporadic, caducous, shed, deciduous, forgettable, docile

3. persistent, lastingadjective

   retained; not shed

   "persistent leaves remain attached past maturity"; "the persistent gills of fishes"

   Synonyms:
   permanent, lasting, durable, long-lived, unrelenting, tenacious, long-lasting, relentless, dour, haunting, unyielding, dogged, pertinacious

   Antonyms:
   forgettable, deciduous, shed, caducous, sporadic, docile

4. dogged, dour, persistent, pertinacious, tenacious, unyieldingadjective

   stubbornly unyielding

   "dogged persistence"; "dour determination"; "the most vocal and pertinacious of all the critics"; "a mind not gifted to discover truth but tenacious to hold it"- T.S.Eliot; "men tenacious of opinion"

   Synonyms:
   saturnine, relentless, sullen, grim, long, sour, morose, haunting, retentive, dark, unyielding, moody, tenacious, recollective, dour, coherent, lasting, pertinacious, dogged, glowering, forbidding, unrelenting, glum

   Antonyms:
   sporadic, docile, deciduous, shed, forgettable, caducous

Matched Categories

1. • Biology

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:3.0 / 1 vote

1. persistentadjective

   Synonyms:
   persevering, constant, steady

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. persistentadjective

   Synonyms:
   contumacious, persevering, insistent, pertinacious, tenacious, importunate, constant

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "persistent":

   pollutants, continuing, persistence, continued, ongoing, tenacious, continuous, constant, sustained, stubborn, persist, enduring, lingering, remanent, sticky, lasting, long-standing, unremitting, pattern, chronic, persistently, tireless, constants, intractable

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How to use persistent in a sentence?

1. Lars Foerberg:

   There is now an urgent need and opportunity to address the significant and persistent underperformance of the industrial businesses.

2. Joe Tacopina:

   To be sure, President Trump is a persistent subject of media coverage. But the present situation is unique because, as stated above, the recent coverage pertains to alleged sexual misconduct, the same issue at the heart of this litigation.

3. M Scott Peck:

   Nirvana or lasting enlightenment or true spiritual growth can be achieved only through persistent exercise of real love.

4. Olivier Blanchard:

   We expect the decrease in price to be quite persistent, we expect some return, some increase, but surely not an increase back to levels where we were, say, six months ago.

5. David DeWitt:

   As we move into fall, from October on, the Southwest US, based on all the best information that we have, they're going to see persistent intensification and development of drought, there's, at this point, not any indication that they'll see drought relief.