perpetrate

[pur-pi-treyt]

verb (used with object)

perpetrated, perpetrating 

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?

perpetrate

/ ˈpɜːpɪˌtreɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to perform or be responsible for (a deception, crime, etc)

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

Other Word Forms

• perpetration noun
• perpetrator noun
• perpetrable adjective
• nonperpetration noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of perpetrate¹

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin perpetrātus (past participle of perpetrāre “to carry out, execute, perform”), equivalent to per- per- + -petr- (combining form of patrāre “to father, bring abou”t; pater ) + -ā- thematic vowel + -tus past participle suffix; -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of perpetrate¹

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

Example Sentences

The laws have long been subject to criticism, with data showing that these laws are overwhelmingly used in cases of violence perpetrated by white individuals against Black people.

Read more on Salon

The three plaintiffs who brought the US case -- two men and one woman, all now American citizens -- alleged that these contracts helped finance violence perpetrated by Sudan against a part of its population.

Read more on Barron's

Dating back to the second wave of Jim Crow-style racism in the early 1950s, Black celebrities have been critical in efforts to bring awareness to racial injustice and accountability to those perpetrating it.

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Through two years of hard fighting and specious allegations against Israel, there hasn’t been evidence of anything like the field executions Hamas perpetrated in its first week of “quiet.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Critics accused her government of unjustly jailing her chief rival, passing draconian anti-press freedom laws, and perpetrating a litany of rights abuses including the murder of opposition activists.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• carry out 
• commit 
• execute 
• inflict 
• wreak