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perpetrate

[pur-pi-treyt]
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verb (used with object), per·pe·trat·ed, per·pe·trat·ing.
  1. to commit: to perpetrate a crime.
  2. to present, execute, or do in a poor or tasteless manner: Who perpetrated this so-called comedy?
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Origin of perpetrate

1540–50; < Latin perpetrātus (past participle of perpetrāre to carry out, execute, perform), equivalent to per- per- + -petr- (combining form of patrāre to father, bring about; see pater) + -ā- theme vowel + -tus past participle suffix; see -ate1
Related formsper·pe·tra·ble [pur-pi-truh-buh l] /ˈpɜr pɪ trə bəl/, adjectiveper·pe·tra·tion, nounper·pe·tra·tor, nounnon·per·pe·tra·tion, nounun·per·pe·trat·ed, adjective
Can be confusedperpetrate perpetuate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

commitexecutewreakinflictpulldoperformeffectactenact

Examples from the Web for perpetrate

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • He must be rid of the fellow in some way—no eye must see him perpetrate the deed he had in mind.

    The Monster Men

    Edgar Rice Burroughs

  • "What a lot of folly they have allowed me to perpetrate," he muttered as he ran along.

  • Let me perpetrate one more,—one which is perhaps the most glaring of all.

  • It is at this point that we perpetrate one of our commonest blunders.

    A Handful of Stars

    Frank W. Boreham

  • Secondly, that you undertake to perpetrate no act of piracy while I am on board.

    The Pirate Slaver

    Harry Collingwood

British Dictionary definitions for perpetrate

perpetrate

verb
  1. (tr) to perform or be responsible for (a deception, crime, etc)
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Derived Formsperpetration, nounperpetrator, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin perpetrāre, from per- (thoroughly) + patrāre to perform, perhaps from pater father, leader in the performance of sacred rites

usage

Perpetrate and perpetuate are sometimes confused: he must answer for the crimes he has perpetrated (not perpetuated); the book helped to perpetuate (not perpetrate) some of the myths surrounding his early life
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for perpetrate

v.

1540s, from Latin perpetratus, past participle of perpetrare "to perform, to accomplish," from per- "completely" + patrare "carry out," originally "bring into existence," from pater "father" (see father (n.)). Earlier in English was perpetren, mid-15c., from Old French perpetrer. Neither good nor bad in Latin, first used in English in statutes, hence its sense of "to perform criminally." Related: Perpetrated; perpetrating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper