/
ˈpəːpɪtreɪt/
v.
carry out or commit (a harmful, illegal, or immoral action).
Derivative
- perpetration n.
- perpetrator n.
Usage
Do not confuse the words perpetrate and perpetuate. Perpetrate means ‘commit a harmful, illegal, or immoral action’, as in a crime has been perpetrated against a sovereign state, whereas perpetuate means ‘make something continue indefinitely’, as in a monument to perpetuate the memory of those killed in the war.
Etymology
C16: from L. perpetrat-, perpetrare ‘perform’; in English the verb was first used in the statutes referring to crime, hence the negative association.
