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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “persistent”

“persistent” is pronounced /pɚˈsɪstənt/ (puh-SI-stuhnt) in American English and /pəsɪstənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “sis”.
The sound

Say “persistent” in 3 beats

Say it like this

persistent

/pɚˈsɪstənt/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /pəsɪstənt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. perpɚ
  2. sissɪstress
  3. tentstənt
IPA (American)
/pɚˈsɪstənt/
IPA (British)
/pəsɪstənt/
Respelling
puh-SI-stuhnt
Syllables
3 — per-SIS-tent
Stress
Stress the second syllable: per-SIS-tent. “sis” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/pɚˈsɪstənt/

British

/pəsɪstənt/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “persistent” means

  1. adjective

    never-ceasing

    “the relentless beat of the drums”

  2. adjective

    continually recurring to the mind; ; - Claudia Cassidy

    “haunting memories”

  3. adjective

    retained; not shed

    “persistent leaves remain attached past maturity”

Say it in a sentence

“Persistent rain kept the builders off the site all week.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ppɚschwa×2ss×2ɪshort itt×2nn

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“persistent”, answered

How do you pronounce “persistent”?

“persistent” is pronounced /pɚˈsɪstənt/ (puh-SI-stuhnt) in American English and /pəsɪstənt/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “sis”. Build it as per-SIS-tent, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “persistent” have?

3: per · sis · tent. The beat lands on the second, “sis”.

Is “persistent” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /pɚˈsɪstənt/ (puh-SI-stuhnt); British English says /pəsɪstənt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “persistent” mean?

As an adjective: never-ceasing For example: “the relentless beat of the drums” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “persistent”?

Stress the second syllable: per-SIS-tent. “sis” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

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