perspire
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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perspirabilitynoun
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perspirableadjective
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perspiryadjective
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unperspiredadjective
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unperspiringadjective
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perspiringlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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perspiresimple
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perspiressimple
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have perspiredperfect
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has perspiredperfect
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am perspiringprogressive
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are perspiringprogressive
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is perspiringprogressive
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have been perspiringperfect progressive
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has been perspiringperfect progressive
Past
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perspiredsimple
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had perspiredperfect
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was perspiringprogressive
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were perspiringprogressive
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had been perspiringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of perspire
1640–50; < Latin perspīrāre to blow constantly (said of the wind), breathe through; in New Latin: to sweat imperceptibly. See per-, inspire
Explanation
To perspire is to sweat: to excrete perspiration through the pores in your skin. Whenever little drops of moisture appear on your skin, you're perspiring or sweating. People sweat when they're nervous, when it's hot out, and when they're doing a lot of exercise. If you watch people playing a strenuous sport like basketball, they will be perspiring. Perspiring is one way your body cools itself off, so sweating is a good thing, even though it can make you feel gross. Some animals — like dogs — can't perspire, so it's harder for them to cool off.
Vocabulary lists containing perspire
"Marionettes, Inc." by Ray Bradbury
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Novel Study: Fahrenheit 451, Part II
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The Fighting Ground
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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.
See Examples For:
He couldn’t have been sweating on the dancefloor because an “overdose of adrenaline’’ during his time as a helicopter pilot in the 1982 Falklands War had left him unable to perspire.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
Your nose will perspire and you will feel compelled to touch it.
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
And he said, ‘Coach, quarterbacks don’t sweat. Quarterbacks perspire.’
From Washington Times ● Aug. 24, 2022
That perhaps does hint that summer’s sultry grip on our imaginations and our propensity to perspire may be on the wane.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 19, 2022
As time passed, I began to perspire in that small hot room.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
But nearly everything about Charlie — the sound of his breathing, the way he eats, moves and perspires — underlines his abjection, to an extent that starts to feel cruel and voyeuristic.
From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
He walks five miles every day for exercise and perspires a great deal, but he doesn’t change his shirt.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
Runny Rampling shamelessly perspires like some sort of gruesome mutant.”
From The Guardian ● Feb. 8, 2016
Short and plump, Agarwal perspires in the late spring heat.
From Forbes ● Jul. 2, 2014
Once inside the train he perspires heavily and takes off his coat.
From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison
The beleaguered bride, in her dress, perspired through her makeup on a warm afternoon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
He recalls that Cash, out of his element as an actor, perspired so much out of nervousness that Ron got soaking wet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2021
But I perspired on them so much that the metal inside was totally rusted and started to smell.
From The Verge ● Oct. 15, 2017
But at the same time, during an actual hot flash induced by the hot suit, the exercisers perspired less and showed a lower rise in skin temperature than the control group.
From New York Times ● Aug. 3, 2016
I perspired and my body shuddered from the pain.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
Still he battled on against the Dutch - limping, perspiring and also taking one stomach-churning blow where no man wants to be hit as he went.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2023
Even with the increased numbers of travelers of late, going on vacation in autumn is like entering a hushed and luxurious train car after having been in a stuffed summer subway pressed against perspiring commuters.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2023
Andrew denied his accuser’s claim he was perspiring when they first met because he had “a peculiar medical condition, which is that I don’t sweat.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2022
The artist’s movements animate a digital stand-in who resembles some sort of TV host, shifting in his midcentury-modern chair, perspiring under virtual klieg lights.
From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2021
The tent flap opens, and Uncle Al enters, perspiring visibly and beaming from ear to ear.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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.
