How to pronounce "persistent" in English
pərˈsɪstənt
pər·SIS·tənt
Primary stress: SIS
Hear native speakers say persistent in context across real video clips
undertaken by other countries in in response to Russia's gross and persistent violations of key tenants of international law, meaning an attack on a peaceful neighbor, an infringement on the country's an attack on a peaceful neighbor, an infringement on the country's
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “persistent”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
pər
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
SIS
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
tənt
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the second syllable ("SIS"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels.
How Native Speakers Say It: Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "persistent" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "persistent is" sounds like "persistent-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "persistent" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“persistent violations of key tenants of international law, meaning an attack on a peaceful neighbor, an infringement on the country's”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“persistent it's called sustained attention these are the ones who can keep doing something in fact when I was”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“persistent problems for the Next Generation those malnourished children will be affected physically mentally and their General development over”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“persistent problems for the Next Generation those malnourished children will be affected physically mentally and their General development”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“persistent overoptimism unwarranted optimism about the war remember George Bush didn't invade Iraq saying I have a”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“Persistent bombing in Gaza, leveling neighborhoods killing more than 2000 people, including at least 700 children.”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “persistent”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
persistent violations of key tenants of international law, meaning an attack on a peaceful neighbor, an infringement on the country's
Hear it in context: “persistent”
2,612 clipsThe English word “persistent” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as pərˈsɪstənt (phonetic respelling: pər-SIS-tənt). Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (pər · SIS · tənt), with primary lexical stress placed on the 2nd syllable (SIS). Grammatically, “persistent” functions as a adjective. SayItVid indexes 2,612 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “persistent” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USClip #1 · @11:14
“undertaken by other countries in in response to Russia's gross and persistent violations of key tenants of international law, meaning an attack on a peaceful neighbor, an infringement on the country's an attack on a peaceful neighbor, an infringement on the country's”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #2 · @24:56
“uh persistent uh conscientious orderly persistent it's called sustained attention these are the ones who can keep doing something in fact when I was attention these are the ones who can”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #3 · @2:15
“own he's worried about the long-term consequences malnutrition causes persistent problems for the Next Generation those malnourished children will be affected physically mentally and their General development over will be affected physically mentally and their General development over”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #4 · @2:34
“own he's worried about the long-term consequences malnutrition causes persistent problems for the Next Generation those malnourished children will be affected physically mentally and their General development will be affected physically mentally and their General development”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @22:39
“occupation Bush's Central failure was persistent overoptimism unwarranted optimism about the war remember George Bush didn't invade Iraq saying I have a optimism about the war remember George”
Definition & Meaning: “persistent”
- Obstinately refusing to give up or let go.
- Insistently repetitive.
Example Sentences (3)
- “She has had a persistent cough for weeks.”
- “There was a persistent knocking on the door.”
- “persistent violations of key tenants of international law, meaning an attack on a peaceful neighbor, an infringement on the country's”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “persistent”
- Pronunciation:
- pər-SIS-tənt
- Syllables:
- pər · SIS · tənt
- Written Hyphenation:
- per · sis · tent
- Primary stress:
- SIS
- IPA:
- pərˈsɪstənt
- Hear it in context
- persistent
Words that Rhyme with “persistent”
-ɪstəntWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"persistent" (⁄pərˈsɪstənt⁄) has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "persistent" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about persistent
How do you pronounce “persistent”?
“persistent” is pronounced ⁄pərˈsɪstənt⁄ (pər-SIS-tənt). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “persistent”?
“persistent” has 3 syllables: pər · SIS · tənt.
Where is the stress in “persistent”?
The primary stress in “persistent” is on “SIS”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “persistent” mean?
Obstinately refusing to give up or let go.
How can I hear “persistent” used in real sentences?
This page has 2612 real-world video examples of “persistent” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.
What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “persistent”?
Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels. Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).