WordWeb Online

1. Continue to exist
   "These stories persist";
   - prevail, die hard, run, endure
    
2. Be persistent, refuse to stop
   "he persisted to call me every night"; "The child persisted and kept asking questions";
   - persevere, hang in, hang on, hold on
    
3. Be in an unchanged state for a long time; last a long time
   "The hostility persisted long after they made up";
   - remain, stay

Derived forms: persists, persisting, persisted

Type of: bear on, carry on, continue, preserve, uphold

Encyclopedia: Persist