perpetual

adjective

per·​pet·​u·​al pər-ˈpe-chə-wəl How to pronounce perpetual (audio)
-chəl;
-ˈpech-wəl
1
a
: continuing forever : everlasting
perpetual motion
b(1)
: valid for all time
a perpetual right
(2)
: holding something (such as an office) for life or for an unlimited time
2
: occurring continually : indefinitely long-continued
perpetual problems
3
: blooming continuously throughout the season
Choose the Right Synonym for perpetual

continual, continuous, constant, incessant, perpetual, perennial mean characterized by continued occurrence or recurrence.

continual often implies a close prolonged succession or recurrence.

continual showers the whole weekend

continuous usually implies an uninterrupted flow or spatial extension.

football's oldest continuous rivalry

constant implies uniform or persistent occurrence or recurrence.

lived in constant pain

incessant implies ceaseless or uninterrupted activity.

annoyed by the incessant quarreling

perpetual suggests unfailing repetition or lasting duration.

a land of perpetual snowfall

perennial implies enduring existence often through constant renewal.

a perennial source of controversy

Examples of perpetual in a Sentence

As always, I was struck by how the core values of the military—service and discipline, both physical and intellectual—are so different from the perpetual American Mardi Gras. Joe Klein, Time, 29 Aug. 2005
Because Hunter had been a perpetual Peter Pan, accepting the bleak reality of his death came hard. Douglas Brinkley, Rolling Stone, 22 Sept. 2005
He's addicted to the perpetual flux of the information networks. He craves his next data fix. He's a speed freak, an info junkie. David Brooks, Newsweek, 30 Apr. 2001
Only after I had built to the emotional peroration culminating in the word "astonishing" was I at last sufficiently unastonished by the force of my feelings to be able to put together a couple of hours of sleep—or something resembling sleep, for, even half out of it, I was a biography in perpetual motion, memory to the marrow of my bones. Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997
The region is in a state of perpetual war. He seems to have a perpetual grin on his face. the perpetual demands of parenthood
Recent Examples on the Web Moreover, the pervasive nature of digital technology means that we’re constantly tethered to our devices, leading to a state of perpetual alertness and hypervigilance. Georgia Day, Glamour, 8 Mar. 2024 The spot is best known for an oceanfront Taco Bell, which is great in theory, but in practice is plagued by a perpetual sogginess and the hundreds of surfers who clog its parking lot every weekend. Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2024 The perpetual dance of disappointment between you and your brother is a result of growing up with an abusive parent. Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 4 Mar. 2024 For deep-sea creatures, where sunlight is nonexistent, bioluminescence acts as a beacon in the perpetual night. Scott Travers, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Sixty percent of the microchips—and 90 percent of the most advanced kind of semiconductor chips—vital to both Americans’ daily communications and U.S. national defense are manufactured in a nation under perpetual Chinese threat, Taiwan. Shannon K. O’Neil, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 In this landscape of perpetual change, strategic investment in cybersecurity becomes not just a shield but a pivotal contributor to an organization's enduring success. Mike Kijewski, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024 Notably, the spacecraft is aiming for a region home to craters trapped in perpetual shadows, which are believed to house water ice. William Gavin, Quartz, 22 Feb. 2024 Mao Zedong and other Chinese Marxists believed that Confucianism was theoretically incompatible with Marxism, which celebrates revolution and perpetual change, and that its practical influence on politics had made China weak. Rana Mitter, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perpetual.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English perpetuel, from Anglo-French, from Latin perpetuus uninterrupted, from per- through + petere to go to — more at feather

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of perpetual was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near perpetual

Cite this Entry

“Perpetual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perpetual. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

perpetual

adjective
per·​pet·​u·​al pər-ˈpech-(ə-)wəl How to pronounce perpetual (audio)
-ˈpech-əl
1
: continuing forever : everlasting
2
: occurring continually : constant
perpetually
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on perpetual

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