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

Related Words

See eternal.

Other Word Forms

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

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

James Van Geelen, founder of Citrini Research, told MarketWatch that he hade traded the Cerebras pre-IPO perpetual as volume surged ahead of its May 14 IPO.

From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026

By offering trading in perpetual futures instead of tokenized stocks, Trade.xyz has sidestepped this risk.

From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026

Another contestant, Kurt Gallo, a former esports player, is battling through perpetual futures tied to HYPE, the native cryptocurrency of the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

The episode helped forge the persona she would cultivate for decades: part street fighter, part martyr - a perpetual insurgent even in power.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

A shadow crossed his face whenever anyone mentioned Bucky, and every day it seemed to stay longer, pressing his features into a perpetual frown.

From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon

Related Words

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