【Persevere】 , 【persist】  are both used in reference to persons in the sense of to continue in a given course in the face of difficulty or opposition.

【Persevere】 nearly always implies an admirable quality; it suggests both refusal to be discouraged by failure, doubts, or difficulties, and a steadfast or dogged pursuit of an end or an undertaking.

【Persist】  (see also CONTINUE ) may imply a virtue, but it more often suggests a disagreeable or annoying quality, for it stresses stubbornness or obstinacy more than courage or patience and frequently implies opposition to advice, remonstrance, disapproval, or one's own conscience,

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