Serving as a soldier, or persisting through difficult situations with determination and commitment.
From 'soldier,' from Old French 'solde' (wages), because soldiers were paid troops. The verb evolved to mean both literal military service and metaphorical perseverance through hardship.
There's a beautiful hidden meaning in 'soldiering on'—it comes from soldiers who kept marching despite exhaustion. So when someone is 'soldiering through' a difficult time, they're being as tough and determined as a trained warrior.
Historically gendered masculine; 'soldiering on' emerged from military contexts excluding women until recently. The metaphor implies stoic, emotionally-suppressed persistence coded as masculine virtue.
Use 'persisting,' 'continuing steadily,' or 'pushing forward' to avoid gendered perseverance tropes.
["persisting","continuing steadily","pushing forward"]
Women have served in military roles across cultures; acknowledge contemporary women soldiers rather than reinforce masculine-coded persistence language.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.