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

Synonym Usage

See eternal.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• perpetually
  adverb
• perpetuality
  noun
• perpetualness
  noun
• nonperpetual
  adjective
• 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

Here, perpetual motion tips over into physical comedy.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

As a result, one hemisphere constantly faces the star while the other remains in perpetual darkness.

From Science Daily • Jun. 11, 2026

Losing Catherine to Edgar, the heir of Thrushcross Grange, prompts Heathcliff, the perpetual outsider, to vow vengeance; he maneuvers to gain financial control of both houses with the aim of destroying each one’s inhabitants.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

They gave the U.S. a perpetual concession for the cemetery where most of those fallen Americans are buried.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026

Our lives were a cycle—the cycle of the day, the cycle of the seasons—circles of perpetual change that, when complete, meant nothing had changed at all.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Related Words

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