perpetuate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to enable or allow the continuation of into the future; keep alive (used most often in reference to something considered harmful or false): Vines obscured a plaque intended to perpetuate her memory.
Social media played a significant role in perpetuating political divisions.
Vines obscured a plaque intended to perpetuate her memory.
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to preserve from extinction or oblivion: perpetuate the species.
to perpetuate one's name;
perpetuate the species.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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perpetuancenoun
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perpetuationnoun
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perpetuatornoun
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perpetuableadjective
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unperpetuableadjective
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unperpetuatingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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perpetuatesimple
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perpetuatessimple
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have perpetuatedperfect
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has perpetuatedperfect
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am perpetuatingprogressive
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are perpetuatingprogressive
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is perpetuatingprogressive
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have been perpetuatingperfect progressive
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has been perpetuatingperfect progressive
Past
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perpetuatedsimple
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had perpetuatedperfect
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was perpetuatingprogressive
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were perpetuatingprogressive
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had been perpetuatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of perpetuate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin perpetuātus (past participle of perpetuāre, derivative of perpetuus “uninterrupted”); see perpetual, -ate 1
Explanation
Some things should last forever and others should not be perpetuated at all. Things that should NOT be perpetuated? Ugly rumors, arms races, and your Aunt Martha's annual fruit cake. Be careful not to confuse perpetuate with perpetrate. Although they differ in spelling by only one letter, they differ greatly in meaning. If you perpetuate something, you help it last. Perpetrate, on the other hand, means to commit a criminal act. Needless to say, you wouldn't want to perpetuate the acts of perpetrators!
Vocabulary lists containing perpetuate
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Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
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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.
On the flip side, she said the videos also can perpetuate myths that predators such as wolves and mountain lions are more dangerous than they actually are.
From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2026
“If this data has been absconded or downloaded, you could perpetuate fraud against every single government system in existence much more easily than at any time in our history.”
From MarketWatch • Feb. 4, 2026
Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson rejected that plan, saying it would perpetuate the whales' exploitation.
From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026
We must not assume that liberty will perpetuate itself or that institutions will function without the trust and discipline of those they serve.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
Understanding is more often used to try to alter an outcome than to repeat or perpetuate it.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
