The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Persist \Per*sist"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Persisted; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Persisting.] [L. persistere; per + sistere to stand
   or be fixed, fr. stare to stand: cf. F. persister. See
   Per-, and Stand.]
   To stand firm; to be fixed and unmoved; to stay; to continue
   steadfastly; especially, to continue fixed in a course of
   conduct against opposing motives; to persevere; -- sometimes
   conveying an unfavorable notion, as of doggedness or
   obstinacy.
   [1913 Webster]

         If they persist in pointing their batteries against
         particular persons, no laws of war forbid the making
         reprisals.                               --Addison.
   [1913 Webster]

         Some positive, persisting fops we know,
         Who, if once wrong, will needs be always so. --Pope.
   [1913 Webster]

         That face persists.
         It floats up; it turns over in my mind.  --Mrs.
                                                  Browning.
   [1913 Webster]

   Syn: See Persevere, and Insist.
        [1913 Webster] Persistence

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

persist
    v 1: continue to exist; "These stories die hard"; "The legend of
         Elvis endures" [syn: prevail, persist, die hard,
         run, endure]
    2: be persistent, refuse to stop; "he persisted to call me every
       night"; "The child persisted and kept asking questions" [syn:
       persevere, persist, hang in, hang on, hold on]
    3: stay behind; "The smell stayed in the room"; "The hostility
       remained long after they made up" [syn: persist, remain,
       stay]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

130 Moby Thesaurus words for "persist":
   abide, adhere, agglomerate, assert, be spared, bide, bottle up,
   brook no denial, bunch, carry on, carry through, cheat death,
   clasp, cleave, clinch, cling, cling to, clot, cluster, coagulate,
   cohere, congeal, conglomerate, contend, continue,
   continue the same, continue to be, continue to exist, cork up,
   defeat time, defy time, drag along, drag on, drone, dwell, embrace,
   endure, exist, extend, freeze to, get along, get on, go on,
   go on with, grasp, grow together, hang in, hang on, hang together,
   hang tough, hold, hold in, hold on, hold out, hold together, hug,
   hum, inhibit, insist, insist on, insist upon, keep, keep alive,
   keep at, keep at it, keep driving, keep going, keep in, keep on,
   keep trying, keep up, labor, last, last long, last out, linger,
   live, live on, live through, lock in, maintain, make out, manage,
   mass, never say die, not accept compromise, obtain, perdure,
   perennate, persevere, preserve, press, prevail, remain, repress,
   retain, run, run on, run through, save, save up, see it through,
   set, solidify, stand, stand fast, stand firm, stand on, stay,
   stay on, stay put, stick, stick it out, stick to, stick to it,
   stick together, strive, subsist, support life, suppress, survive,
   sustain, take hold of, take no denial, tarry, tide over, toil,
   urge, wear, wear well