continue vs persevere in

continue

verb
  • To make a continuation bet. 

  • To retain (someone or something) in a given state, position, etc. 

  • To proceed with (doing an activity); to prolong (an activity). 

  • To remain in a given place or condition; to remain in connection with; to abide; to stay. 

  • To make last; to prolong. 

  • To resume. 

  • To adjourn, prorogue, put off. 

noun
  • An option allowing the player to resume play after game over, when all lives have been lost, while retaining their progress. 

persevere in

How often have the words continue and persevere in occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )