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pursue

verb
/pəˈsjuː/UK/pɚˈsu/US/pəˈʃu/

Etymology

From Middle English pursuen, from Anglo-Norman pursure, poursuire etc., from Latin prōsequor (though influenced by persequor). Doublet of prosecute.

  1. derived from prōsequor
  2. derived from pursure
  3. inherited from pursuen

Definitions

  1. To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm

    To follow urgently, originally with intent to capture or harm; to chase.

    • pursue one's dreams
    • The wicked flee when no man purſueth: but the righteous are bolde as a lyon.
    • He now feared for his life, and believed US intelligence agents would pursue him.

  2. To follow, travel down (a particular way, course of action etc.).

    • Her rival pursued a quite different course.

  3. To aim for, go after (a specified objective, situation etc.).

    • He even stands to gain in world terms: his noisy critics strengthen his projected image of a man determined to pursue peace with Palestinians.
  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. To participate in (an activity, business etc.)

      To participate in (an activity, business etc.); to practise, follow (a profession).

      • The Kedarites are depicted as herders of sheep and goats who pursued a seminomadic existence and lived scattered over a wide area of the desert region east of the land of Israel.

    2. To act as a legal prosecutor.

    3. To continue

      To continue; to carry on.

      • 'Allow me, great king,' pursued the Demon, in a dry tone of voice, 'to wish you joy […]

The neighborhood

Derived

mispursue, overpursue, pursuable, pursuance, pursuee, pursuer, pursuingly, repursue, unpursued, unpursuing

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at pursue. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01pursue02capture03attraction04attracted05attract06invite07formally08accordance09agreement10follow

A definitional loop anchored at pursue. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at pursue

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA