And since becoming Mayor he has exhibited a persistent tendency to disparage and humiliate - often in public - anyone who disagrees with him.

A review of Sharon's military career reveals an uneven record and a persistent tendency to disobey orders, employ excessive force and remain indifferent to civilian casualties.

Amy was picking at the letters of the typewriter which had a persistent tendency to stick.

The report admits that "there has probably been a persistent tendency within the world's energy industry to understate the technical potential for improvement and substitution".

The persistent tendency to cover up for our lack of effectiveness by using vague language must be strongly resisted.

Can we catch up, by a little clairvoyance, on the persistent tendency of state provision to come thirty years late?

The brief criticized the Lemon v. Kurtzman approach as a "rigid doctrinal framework" that has had a "persistent tendency to invalidate practices with substantial historical sanction."

The prime minister called the action against Libya "a medieval crusade" and American militarism a persistent tendency.

In Western civilisation, there is a persistent tendency to suppress and to block out of our consciousness the existence of any weakness, especially mental weakness.

There was a persistent tendency to put off those questions to the end.