A word for one who perseveres?

Is there a noun to describe a person who perseveres? I suppose a survivor is one who has survived difficult circumstances, and a soldier could be one that soldiers on, but neither word has quite the right connotation. I want the sense of "continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty" without necessarily calling to mind images of trauma or war.

Solution 1:

I think the best slang term I can think of is trooper.

Anyone who exhibits EXTREME perseverence, fortitude, and tenacity.

Usage:

• Bill has had cancer 4 times and is still in great shape, he's such a trooper.

Note: As Gnawme indicated in the comments trouper is an alternative spelling.

I also offer stoic, as it is someone who perseveres and does so without complaining.

noun noun: stoic; plural noun: stoics; noun: Stoic; plural noun: Stoics

1. a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining.

And since I cannot resist on using sports terms for everything. If this person were playing football, soccer, baseball, basketball, and they went through a lot of hardships and injuries yet still played on through everything they might be called a gamer.

Usage: Bob has a pulled hamstring and a beat up foot but he has played the last 3 days, he such a gamer.

Solution 2:

undeterred

Persevering with something despite setbacks

he was undeterred by these disasters

You can check the synonyms also. I would also add that adjectives are better for this context.

Apparently, perseverer is a word and a noun, though it is not that common.

one that perseveres : a persistent person

From the book "The Great Awakening: A Buddhist Social Theory" By David Loy:

Each Tibetan knew that the moral Buddhist cared more for the welfare of others more than his or her own welfare, gave others rather than amassed a fortune, rigorously tried to prevent harm to others, never engaged in any of the nonvirtuous acts, had complete devotion to the Buddha and his path, worked to eliminate anger and desire for material goods, accepted problems with patience and endurance, and remained an enthusiastic perseverer in the quest for truth and enlightenment.

Also endurer as a noun:

One who, or that which, endures or lasts; one who bears, suffers, or sustains.

From "Don Quixote" by Cervantes, Miguel:

Humble with the proud, haughty with the humble, encounterer of dangers, endurer of outrages, enamoured without reason, imitator of the good, scourge of the wicked, enemy of the mean, in short, knight-errant, which is all that can be said!

Solution 3:

Consider fighter.

fighter: a pugnacious, unyielding, or determined person; a person with the courage or determination to fight, struggle, etc.

"They say he's stable, he's gained a little weight, and his lungs are in better shape. "He's a fighter," she said."

"I'm A Fighter"

On different levels, someone who continues in a course of action even in the face of difficulty can be described as a go-getter, a winner, or a diehard.

Solution 4:

Obdurate

Stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action:

I argued this point with him, but he was obdurate

You might also refer to a mountain as 'obdurate' as it exists essentially unchanged regardless of weather and humanity. So further to its innate meaning, similes like, 'he is obdurate as the mountain' can be constructed in the semantic direction you seek.

edit: didn't see that you wanted a noun specifically, so:

Adamant/Adamance/Adamancy Stemming from adamas latin for invincible, untameable.

Refusing to be persuaded or to change one’s mind