perpetually

[per-pech-oo-uh-lee]

adverb

1. 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.

2. without intermission or interruption; continually.

   The library received five more laptops to relieve the pressure on their perpetually busy media loan desk.

3. 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of perpetually¹

perpetual ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

Qualcomm said Wednesday that it recorded a $5.7 billion charge because it expects to perpetually pay the minimum tax and thus can’t use some deferred tax breaks; the company does expect lower cash tax payments.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Their chaotic summer journey is joined by Brett’s fiancé, the troubled Mike Campbell, the charming but cynical Bill Gorton and the perpetually lost Robert Cohn, who is hopelessly infatuated with Brett.

Read more on Salon

It wasn’t that long ago that self-driving cars perpetually felt a year away.

Read more on Barron's

Maybe even more importantly, after digging into the details, Hit realized that his contract had no end date and existed perpetually for the rest of his life.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

At first sight, Staunton recalls being enthralled by her perpetually “cool” demeanor.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• constantly 
• endlessly www.thesaurus.com