permanence

Those objects were able to have a permanence and tell a story that nobody else could.

But it was also the permanence of that culture of high school football.

The oil producers’ assumption has been that these trims would be temporary, but they have begun to take on an air of permanence as prices have been relatively subdued.

Also very persistent are organochlorine pesticides, which were already banned in Europe in the 1970s, but to which we are still widely exposed due to their permanence in the environment.

But on “Radical Optimism,” all that’s at stake is coupledom: sizing up each other, testing the possibilities, envisioning permanence or — surprisingly graciously — letting go.