pursue
[verb]
Synonyms:
- follow, chase, dog, hound, hunt, hunt down, run after, shadow, stalk, tail (informal), track
- try for, aim for, desire, seek, strive for, work towards
- engage in, carry on, conduct, perform, practise
- continue, carry on, keep on, maintain, persevere in, persist in, proceed

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Related Idioms: go in pursuit (of)
Related Words: persevere, persist, oppress, persecute, badger, bait, hound, ride

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English Thesaurus: follow, chase, run after somebody/go after somebody, stalk, pursue, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

pur‧sue S3 W2 AC /pəˈsjuː $ pərˈsuː/ verb [transitive]
[Word Family: noun: pursuer, pursuit; verb: pursue]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Anglo-French; Origin: pursuer, from Old French poursuir, from Latin prosequi; ⇒ prosecute]

1. to continue doing an activity or trying to achieve something over a long period of time ⇒ pursuit:
She plans to pursue a career in politics.
Students should pursue their own interests, as well as do their school work.
pursue a goal/aim/objective etc
companies that pursue the traditional goal of profits
a campaign promise to pursue policies that will help the poor

2. pursue the matter/argument/question etc to continue trying to find out about or persuade someone about a particular subject:
Janet did not dare pursue the matter further.
The defence pursued the question of Dr Carrington’s state of mind.

3. to chase or follow someone or something, in order to catch them, attack them etc ⇒ pursuit:
Briggs ran across the field with one officer pursuing him.

4. to keep trying to persuade someone to have a relationship with you:
I was pleased, but somewhat embarrassed, when she pursued me.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

pursue
verb
I. continue sth/try to achieve sth
ADV. further, still | actively, energetically, vigorously | doggedly He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.
relentlessly | effectively, successfully How can we most effectively pursue these aims?
VERB + PURSUE decide to We have decided not to pursue the matter further.
intend to, want to, wish to deciding on which career you wish to pursue
be/feel inclined to | be reluctant to | be able to, be at liberty to, be free to | continue to
PHRASES the ability/freedom to pursue sth the freedom to pursue her own interests
be not worth pursuing I decided the matter was not worth pursuing further.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

pursue
II. chase sb
ADV. relentlessly He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take ‘no’ for an answer.
PHRASES closely/hotly pursued by sb He ran past, hotly pursued by two policemen.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

pursue

pursue a career
You have to be dedicated to pursue a career in medicine.
pursue an interest
Always encourage children to pursue their interests.
pursue a goal/aim/objective
She was known to be ruthless in pursuing her goals.
pursue your ambitions
David left the company to pursue his political ambitions.
pursue a policy/strategy
The organization is pursuing a policy of cost cutting.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

follow to walk, drive etc behind or after someone, for example in order to see where they are going:
The man had followed her home to find out where she lived.
Follow that car!
He hired a detective to follow her.
chase to quickly run or drive after someone or something in order to catch them when they are trying to escape:
Police chased the car along the motorway at speeds of up to 90 mph.
run after somebody/go after somebody to quickly follow someone or something in order to stop them or talk to them:
I ran after him to say sorry, but he’d already got on the bus.
stalk /stɔːk $ stɒːk/ to secretly follow an animal in order to kill it, or to secretly follow a person in order to attack them:
a tiger stalking its prey
He had a long history of stalking women in his neighbourhood.
pursue /pəˈsjuː $ pərˈsuː/ written to chase someone in a very determined way:
The ship was being pursued by enemy submarines.
give chase written to chase someone or something who is trying to escape from you:
One of the officers gave chase and arrested the man.
The calf ran away and the lion gave chase.
tail to secretly follow someone in order to watch what they do and where they go:
Apparently, the police had been tailing the terrorists for months.
track to follow and find a person or animal by looking at the marks they leave on the ground:
The bushmen were tracking antelope in the Kalahari desert.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲