persevere

verb

per·se·vere | \ ˌpər-sə-ˈvir

persevered; persevering

Definition of persevere

intransitive verb

: to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement

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Examples of persevere in a Sentence

She persevered in her studies and graduated near the top of her class. Even though he was tired, he persevered and finished the race.

Recent Examples on the Web

But Ball persevered, relearning all the basics with her prosthetic legs on. — Susie Armitage, SELF, "This Is How an Aerial Performer Restarted Her Career After Having Both Feet Amputated," 23 Jan. 2019 Even if the states continue to persevere, their actions won’t substitute for comprehensive federal oversight. — Susan Dynarski, New York Times, "How to Clean Up the Student Loan Mess," 6 Apr. 2018 This is economic history on an epic scale, and readers who persevere through the book’s roughly 600 pages of text will find many surprises. — Marc Levinson, WSJ, "‘Crashed’ Review: The Trouble Is Trans-Atlantic," 6 Aug. 2018 Despite these mechanisms of political and legal intimidation, everyday folks have continued to persevere, from kayak blockades in the bayous to people chaining themselves to extractors in protest of the construction. — Mary Lovell, Teen Vogue, "Bayou Bridge Pipeline Meets Resistance from the L’eau Est La Vie Camp," 16 Oct. 2018 This is especially true for women athletes, whose career success hinges on their ability to persevere—something that Maia Shibutani, Olympic medalist, U.S. Figure Skating has plenty of experience with. — Danielle Page, USA TODAY, "Empowering advice from today’s top women leaders at the 2018 KPMG Women's Leadership Summit," 2 July 2018 Building on her passion to serve, Scott persevered, and in 2016, challenged the state legislative incumbent in her district. — Alex Brown, Teen Vogue, "Representative Attica Scott on Making Progressive Change in a Red State, and a Potential Run for Kentucky Governor," 18 Oct. 2018 Pressley has spoken openly about her experiences, putting herself out there as a woman who hasn’t just succeeded, but persevered. — Jill Filipovic, Harper's BAZAAR, "Your State-by-State Guide to Women Running in the Midterms," 31 Oct. 2018 Reckless and the others have persevered in a small business long after hundreds have other have failed, crushed under the immense pressure of changing consumer behavior and streaming sites such as Netflix and Hulu. — Ryan Blethen, The Seattle Times, "Seattle’s last 3 video rental stores strive to remain part of the neighborhood," 10 Sep. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'persevere.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.