Basic Details
Word: Pursue
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: To follow or chase someone or something, or to keep working towards a goal over a long time.
Synonyms: chase, follow, seek
Antonyms: abandon, give up
How to Spell Pursue
Syllables: pur - sue
Tricky part: It starts pur, not per, and ends ue. Persue is the most common slip.
Watch out for: persue, pursu, pursuee
Memory tip: Pursue ends in sue, like the name Sue. Pur + Sue: imagine running after a girl called Sue.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Two police jeeps pursued the speeding car down the highway.
Example 2: My sister wants to pursue a career in wildlife photography.
Example 3: A cheetah can pursue its prey for only a short distance.
Fun Fact
In track cycling, the pursuit is an event in which riders start on opposite sides of the track and try to catch each other.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
After finishing school in Kochi, my cousin wants to persue a degree in marine biology at a university abroad.
a) biology
b) finishing
c) university
d) persue
Show answer
d) persue. The word opens with pur, the same as purpose, and never with per.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word 'pursue' as used in the sentence:
She decided to pursue her dream of becoming a pilot in spite of many setbacks.
a) follow
b) seek
c) abandon
d) chase
Show answer
c) abandon. Chasing a dream is the reverse of abandoning it; the other options keep going after it.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the meaning of the correctly spelt word:
1. aquire 2. pursue 3. apparant 4. acheive
a) to follow or chase
b) clear to see or understand
c) to reach a goal by effort
d) to get or come to own
Show answer
a) to follow or chase. Achieve has ie after the h, acquire has a c before the q, and apparent ends in ent.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If you pursue a hobby, you ____.
a) give it up quickly
b) forget about it
c) sell it to others
d) keep working at it
Show answer
d) keep working at it
2. Which word could replace pursue in 'the dog began to pursue the cat'?
a) ignore
b) praise
c) feed
d) chase
Show answer
d) chase
