noun
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Christianity
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final and irrevocable spiritual ruin
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this state as one that the wicked are said to be destined to endure for ever
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another word for hell
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archaic utter disaster, ruin, or destruction
Etymology
Origin of perdition
First recorded in 1300–50; from Latin perditiōn-, stem of perditiō “destruction,” from perdit(us) “lost” (past participle of perdere “to do in, ruin, lose,” from per- per- + -dere, combining form of dare “to give”) + -iō -ion; replacing Middle English perdiciun, from Old French, from Latin, as above
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The only places I’d seen within a stone’s throw from Shady’s place were the cemetery and that broken-down shack of a house with perdition written on the gate.
From Literature
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I was condemned to eternal perdition if I was going to be able to call my own sister ‘Miss Tansy.’
From Literature
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What could have prompted Sister Redempta to venture down the path to Miss Sadie’s? perdition, it said on her gate.
From Literature
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The letters were kind of crooked and a little uneven but they looked to read perdition.
From Literature
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“You don’t know that for sure. And for crying out loud, don’t you know what perdition means?”
From Literature
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.