perpetually
Americanadverb
-
forever or for an indefinitely long time.
It is best to think of any software licensed in this way as perpetually licensed.
We seem to be locked perpetually in the past.
-
without intermission or interruption; continually.
The library received five more laptops to relieve the pressure on their perpetually busy media loan desk.
-
with continued recurrence; regularly or repeatedly: I'm the girl who loses pens constantly, forgets about quizzes in math, and is perpetually late.
The city’s public schools, particularly in working-class neighborhoods, are perpetually understaffed.
I'm the girl who loses pens constantly, forgets about quizzes in math, and is perpetually late.
Other Word Forms
- nonperpetually adverb
- quasi-perpetually adverb
Etymology
Origin of perpetually
Explanation
Use the adverb perpetually if something is never, ever going to stop doing what it's doing, like your perpetually chattering cousin. Perpetually comes from the adjective perpetual, which comes from the Latin for "never stopping." Although there might be some things that might exist perpetually, like the universe (hopefully), we usually use perpetually for things that just feel like they're never going to end. If the coffee shop you go to is perpetually playing the same album, bring them a new one. A good synonym is incessantly.
Vocabulary lists containing perpetually
"Common Sense," Vocabulary from the pamphlet
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The Diary of a Young Girl
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Lyddie
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It also seemed to Noorman that his children were perpetually hungry.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
It conjures a raucous, anachronistic world perpetually in the throes of breakdown.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
“The Comeback” has a way of reappearing with Valerie’s perky “hello, hello, hello!” at inflection points like this, making the perpetually out-of-step performer uncannily right on time, always.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
He’s legitimizing its use as psychological scaffolding, which allows a person’s cognitive development to be left perpetually unfinished.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026
Before I walk out of my room, I wink at Aishwarya, perpetually cool and confident.
From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
