continually recurring to the mind
"haunting memories"
"the cathedral organ and the distant voices have a haunting beauty"
retained; not shed
"persistent leaves remain attached past maturity"
"the persistent gills of fishes"
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"
"men tenacious of opinion"
Obstinately refusing to give up or let go.
"The persistent dog refused to leave my side despite all my attempts to shoo it away."
In plain English: Persistent means continuing to try something even when it is difficult and you might want to give up.
"The persistent rain continued all day long."
Usage: Use persistent to describe someone who refuses to stop trying despite obstacles, such as a salesperson calling repeatedly after being told no. Distinguish it from similar words like tenacious by noting that persistence focuses on the act of continuing rather than just holding fast under pressure.
The word comes from the Latin persistere, which meant to continue steadfastly. It entered English as a compound formed by adding the suffix -ent to the root persist.