perpetuate
verb
per·pet·u·ate
| \ pər-ˈpe-chə-ˌwāt
\
\
perpetuated;
perpetuating
Definition of perpetuate
: to make perpetual or cause to last indefinitely
perpetuate the species
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Other Words from perpetuate
perpetuation
\ pər-ˌpe-chə-ˈwā-shən
\
noun
\
noun
perpetuator
\ pər-ˈpe-chə-ˌwā-tər
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of perpetuate in a Sentence
He perpetuates the myth that his house is haunted.
Fears about an epidemic are being perpetuated by the media.
Recent Examples on the Web
In her plan, Warren pledged to end policies that have perpetuated this discrimination and to help these families of color preserve their ownership, build wealth and gain access to sustainable livelihoods. — Lizzie Presser, ProPublica, "Elizabeth Warren Announces Plans to Help Heirs’ Property Owners," 20 Aug. 2019 Defying a news cycle that perpetuates the animosity in the seemingly endless Middle East conflict, mainstream Israeli audiences have embraced an Arab singer and branded her a reality TV star in her adopted land. — David Caspi, Billboard, "After Touring With Radiohead & Playing Coachella, Arab Singer Nasrin Kadry Becomes a Reality Sensation in Israel," 14 Aug. 2019 No party should expect to benefit forever from a system that perpetuates inequality and inaccuracy. — Adam Eichen, The New Republic, "The Case Against the Electoral College Is Stronger Than Ever," 2 Aug. 2019 This has been a major underlying factor that has driven the culture of silence, which perpetuates non-reportage of different degrees of violence within households and schools. — Fakhrriyyah Hashim, Quartz Africa, "How Nigeria’s conservative northern region came to terms with its MeToo movement," 22 July 2019 This is compounded by a school system that perpetuates division. — The Economist, "“Us” v “them” in South Asia," 29 June 2019 Bulgaria got a bad reputation from asinine American comedians who perpetuated the old communist stereotype of squat men and women with unibrows and thick necks who shave twice a day. — John Kass, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Gov. J.B. Pritzker should establish an Office of GSGBO (Get Stoned or Get the Bleep Out) to make a few bucks off those fleeing the state," 27 June 2019 Should the Rajapaksa clan retake power, that could perpetuate Sri Lanka’s cycle of violence. — Robert Draper, National Geographic, "Sri Lanka’s latest violence underscores the need for national healing," 22 Apr. 2019 An earlier Thai constitution sought to discourage coalition governments to prevent wheeling and dealing in which parties sold their loyalty for Cabinet posts, which perpetuated a political spoils system. — Jerry Harmer, The Seattle Times, "Candidates register for 1st Thai general election since coup," 4 Feb. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'perpetuate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for perpetuate
perpetuate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of perpetuate
formal
: to cause (something that should be stopped, such as a mistaken idea or a bad situation) to continue
See the full definition for perpetuate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
perpetuate
verb
per·pet·u·ate
| \ pər-ˈpe-chə-ˌwāt
\
\
perpetuated;
perpetuating
Kids Definition of perpetuate
: to cause to last a long time
perpetuate
transitive verb
per·pet·u·ate
| \ pər-ˈpe-chə-ˌwāt
\
\
perpetuated;
perpetuating
Legal Definition of perpetuate
: to preserve or make available (testimony) for later use at a trial by means of deposition especially when the evidence so gathered would be otherwise unavailable or lost
Note: Courts will not allow the perpetuation of testimony at a pretrial proceeding if it appears to be an attempt to fish for useful material.
Other Words from perpetuate
perpetuation
\ pər-ˌpe-chə-ˈwā-shən
\
noun
\
noun
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