perpetuate

American  

[per-pech-oo-eyt] / pərˈpɛtʃ uˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• perpetuates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• perpetuated,
  past participle,  past
• perpetuating
  present participle

1. 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.

2. to preserve from extinction or oblivion: perpetuate the species.

   to perpetuate one's name;

   perpetuate the species.

   Synonyms:

   sustain, save, preserve, maintain

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perpetuate British  

/ pəˈpɛtjʊˌeɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to cause to continue or prevail

   to perpetuate misconceptions

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• perpetuance
  noun
• perpetuation
  noun
• perpetuator
  noun
• perpetuable
  adjective
• unperpetuable
  adjective
• unperpetuating
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• perpetuating
  present
• perpetuated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• perpetuate
  simple
• perpetuates
  simple
• have perpetuated
  perfect
• has perpetuated
  perfect
• am perpetuating
  progressive
• are perpetuating
  progressive
• is perpetuating
  progressive
• have been perpetuating
  perfect progressive
• has been perpetuating
  perfect progressive

Past

• perpetuated
  simple
• had perpetuated
  perfect
• was perpetuating
  progressive
• were perpetuating
  progressive
• had been perpetuating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will perpetuate
  simple
• will have perpetuated
  perfect
• will be perpetuating
  progressive
• will have been perpetuating
  perfect progressive

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!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perpetuate perpetuates perpetuated perpetuating

But Grande does perpetuate a silence, complacency, and enabling by painting genuine concern as gossipy chatter.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

“We still expect to see warming due to El Niño begin sometime in later summer or fall, which will perpetuate these conditions, and likely expand the warmer-than-normal region further up the coast,” Leising said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

The overabundance of virtually incomprehensible gibberish in most law reviews seems to serve no purpose except to perpetuate more of the same.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

AI images perpetuate "misinformation", for example that people with albinism have red eyes, she said.

From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026

It was the first step outward to the universe—beyond the universe—because in it and with it we merged to recreate and perpetuate the human spirit.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

The back-and-forth fosters confusion but also distrust, she said: "It further perpetuates the myth of like, the sketchy abortion doctor in the back alley."

From Barron's ● May 10, 2026

That’s because their profitability perpetuates animation’s dismissive status as suited only for families or kids.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026

More often than not, punishing people with addiction and applying a one-size-fits-all approach to care perpetuates a patient’s sense of isolation.

From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2025

“It perpetuates the problem. It creates a false equality, by eliminating any opportunity to excel.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025

It perpetuates the myth that the primary function of the system is to keep our streets safe and our homes secure by rooting out dangerous criminals and punishing them.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

“Today, I mourn the 3K lives, 6K injuries, & infrastructural devastation in NYC, perpetuated ignorantly in the name of my faith,” El-Sayed wrote on Sept. 11, 2021.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

And it was about reforming the cultural structures that created and perpetuated those systems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Being adopted by a white family, only to be shunned by the Native community, perpetuated his lifelong feeling of being an outsider.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

There is a bizarre universe built around the prestige and untouchability of the court that is first and foremost perpetuated by the people on the court.

From Slate ● May 13, 2026

Comrade Pillai, grateful for the misunderstanding, perpetuated it.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

"They are therefore never neutral; when they present a distorted image of our planet, they risk perpetuating inaccurate representation that is passed down through generations."

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

Established in 2020, Sarah's Trust was "dedicated to supporting frontline, grassroots work to address the humanitarian and environmental crisis, the hunger crisis and issues perpetuating cycles of extreme poverty", according to its website.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

The U.S. has also hit some domestic-security agencies, including the Tehran headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, the powerful group responsible for defending and perpetuating the regime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026

At the risk of perpetuating a silly cliche, it’s not uncommon to hear people in Los Angeles refer to their psychics or mediums as casually as they refer to their therapists or masseuses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025

My heart told me that I was a Thembu, that I had been raised and sent to school so that I could play a special role in perpetuating the kingship.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• bolster
• maintain
• preserve