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 Mu persevered, earning a top 10 ranking in Southern California for 12, 14, 16 and 18 age divisions. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "U-T All-Academic Team Captains for spring sports," 12 June 2019 Although the Soviet Union sent several landers to Venus, the ones that survived quickly succumbed to the planet’s harsh environment: the longest-lasting one persevered for a mere 127 minutes. — Shannon Hall, Scientific American, "Venus, Earth’s Evil Twin, Beckons Space Agencies," 12 June 2019 When a mouse’s food reward is moved around a maze, some mice persevere for hours, while others quickly resign themselves to hunger. — Quanta Magazine, "Inside a Brain Circuit, the Will to Press On," 5 Dec. 2013 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

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.