perpetrate

[pur-pi-treyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR perpetrate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), per·pe·trat·ed, per·pe·trat·ing.

to commit: to perpetrate a crime.

to present, execute, or do in a poor or tasteless manner: Who perpetrated this so-called comedy?

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. 2019

Related Words for perpetrating

commit, execute, wreak, inflict, pull, do, perform, effect, act, enact

Examples from the Web for perpetrating

Contemporary Examples of perpetrating

We might start by trying to stem the sale of arms to those who are perpetrating the violence in the first place.
Is it Time to Send Lady Liberty Back to France?
Gene Robinson
July 20, 2014
First, can force be used, without Security Council approval, to deter Syria from perpetrating further crimes against humanity?
Three Key Questions on Syria From Geoffrey Robertson
Geoffrey Robertson
August 30, 2013
Little: “So are you saying that these scientists are perpetrating a massive fraud on the global public to get some grant money?”
Sarah Silverman's Climate Change Showdown
Lloyd Grove
March 31, 2010

Historical Examples of perpetrating

It was in keeping with the rest of the nonsense they were perpetrating.
Martian V.F.W.
G.L. Vandenburg
His life was devoted to planning and perpetrating the grossest deceptions.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
We do not know what a diabolical wickedness we are perpetrating every day.
Bunyan Characters - Third Series
Alexander Whyte
I have come to prevent you from going, from perpetrating this folly.
The Nabob, Vol. 2 (of 2)
Alphonse Daudet
At the time when this atrocity was perpetrating not an officer interfered.
Rattlin the Reefer
Edward Howard

British Dictionary definitions for perpetrating

perpetrate

verb

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

Derived Formsperpetration, nounperpetrator, noun

Word Origin for perpetrate

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 perpetrating

perpetrate

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.