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Which U.S. Secretary of State wrote, "Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier"?

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perpetual

American  

[per-pech-oo-uhl] / pərˈpɛtʃ u əl /

adjective

1. 

   continuing or enduring forever; everlasting.

   Synonyms:

   enduring, permanent

   Antonyms:

   temporary

2. lasting an indefinitely long time.

   perpetual snow.

3. continuing or continued without intermission or interruption; ceaseless.

   a perpetual stream of visitors all day.

   Synonyms:

   uninterrupted, unending, constant, incessant, continuous

   Antonyms:

   discontinuous

4. blooming almost continuously throughout the season or the year.

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noun

1. a hybrid rose that is perpetual.

2. a perennial plant.

perpetual British  

/ pəˈpɛtjʊəl /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal) eternal; permanent

2. (usually prenominal) seemingly ceaseless because often repeated

   your perpetual complaints

3. horticulture blooming throughout the growing season or year

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noun

1. (of a crop plant) continually producing edible parts: perpetual spinach

2. a plant that blooms throughout the growing season

Synonym Usage

See eternal.

Other Word Forms

• perpetuality
  noun
• perpetualness
  noun
• nonperpetual
  adjective
• quasi-perpetual
  adjective
• perpetually
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of perpetual

First recorded in 1300–50; late Middle English perpetuall, from Latin perpetuālis “permanent, universal, general,” equivalent to perpetu(us) “continuous, uninterrupted” ( per- “through, thoroughly” + pet-, base of petere “to seek, reach for” + -uus adjective suffix derived from a verb) + -ālis adjective suffix; replacing Middle English perpetuel, from Middle French, from Latin as above; see per-, -al ¹

Explanation

Use the adjective perpetual to describe something that never ends or changes. If you're a perpetual procrastinator, your dilly-dallying ways are never going to improve. It may be true that the only constant is change, but English nevertheless has no shortage of words to describe things that never change: everlasting, eternal, and permanent, for example — and this word, perpetual, from the Latin perpetuus, "continuous." In casual usage, though, you might hear someone say "This perpetual bad weather needs to clear." Maybe it should come as no surprise to find people using the word to describe things that are not truly everlasting — since so few things really are.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perpetual

Kalshi plans to seek regulatory approval to offer the first regulated perpetual futures tied to single stocks in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

The bets gained attention earlier this year when conflicts in the Middle East prompted a wave of trading in oil-linked perpetual futures on the decentralized crypto exchange Hyperliquid.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Nearly $13.7 billion in perpetual futures have been traded on Kalshi in the past 3 weeks — which is “nearly twice the volume of the entire month of July,” a spokeswoman says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Tadej Pogacar won nearly every bike race he entered, and he appeared to do it with ease, conquering rivals and Alpine ascents and eliding the perpetual danger of a perilous sport.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Over one thousand Panthers were jailed, many on false charges, as a result of informants, perpetual surveillance, and other law enforcement tactics that would later become defining features of the War on Drugs.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• ceaseless
• constant
• continued
• continuous
• endless
• enduring
• eternal
• incessant
• infinite
• interminable
• never-ending
• perennial
• permanent
• persistent
• recurring
• unceasing
• unending