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Perdition began life as a word meaning "utter destruction"; that sense is now archaic, but it provides a clue about the origins of the word. "Perdition" was borrowed into English in the 14th century from Anglo-French perdiciun and ultimately derives from the Latin verb perdere, meaning "to destroy." "Perdere" was formed by combining the prefix per- ("through") and "dare" ("to give"). Other descendants of that Latin dare in English include "date," "edition," "render," and "traitor."

Examples of perdition in a Sentence

sinners condemned to eternal perdition simple stupidity is not enough to doom one to perdition

Recent Examples on the Web And not the fire and brimstone Old Testament perdition. — Damon Young, Washington Post, 6 June 2022 Jeff, Bobby’s lone sibling, had to force his way through the perdition of survivor’s guilt. — Jennifer Senior, The Atlantic, 9 Aug. 2021 Morels even more blatantly favor drama, thriving on tree death, soil disturbance, fire and perdition. — Heather Arndt Anderson, Sunset Magazine, 13 Feb. 2020 But simply waiting for their arrival puts us on the road to perdition. — Marin Gjaja, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2020 Robinson’s fiction investigates, again and again, the connection between loneliness and perdition, between the soul’s isolation and its torment. — Jordan Kisner, The Atlantic, 11 Sep. 2020 Hence, the nation to them is not all holy, a thing inviolate and inviolable, a thing that a man dare not sell or dishonour on pain of eternal perdition. — Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 7 Sep. 2020 Like these earlier explorers of perdition, Peterson found wisdom through his harrowing trek. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, 21 May 2018 As the symbolism abounds on this dusty road to perdition, the excesses of the piece invite the actors to indulgent performances. — Theodore P. Mahne, NOLA.com, 31 July 2017 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'perdition.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.