Definition of perennial
1 : present at all seasons of the year
2 : persisting for several years usually with new herbaceous growth from a perennating part perennial asters
3a : persistent, enduring perennial favoritesb : continuing without interruption : constant, perpetual the perennial quest for certainty a perennial studentc : regularly repeated or renewed : recurrent death is a perennial literary theme
perennial
nounIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
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Examples of perennial in a Sentence
The problem … is inherent and perennial in any democracy, but it has been more severe in ours during the past quarter-century because of the near universal denigration of government, politics and politicians. —Michael Kinsley, Time, 29 Oct. 2001
… scientists are warning that a perennial viral threat, the upcoming flu season, could be far more dangerous than usual—more evidence that these tiny foes are responsible for a large share of human suffering. —Claudia Wallis, Time, 3 Nov. 1986
The issue between science and art is of perennial interest to me, since I started off in science in college, in medicine, was headed for psychiatry, and ended up writing novels … —Walker Percy, “The State Of The Novel,” 1977, in Signposts in a Strange Land, 1991
This variety of oregano is perennial.
Flooding is a perennial problem for people living by the river.
Recent Examples of perennial from the Web
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Part of Pearland’s growth, like that of many suburbs, is rooted in the perennial movement of people out of city cores.
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Native to Brazil, this low-growing herbaceous perennial forms a rounded clump of dark amethyst purple leaves in summer.
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But the collapse of both Fyre and Pemberton has once again focused the industry’s attention on what has become a perennial question:
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For the first time since handily winning election in 2005, Overland Park Mayor Carl Gerlach faces a challenger in perennial candidate and former state Rep. Charlotte O’Hara.
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Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem is a perennial campaign promise for Republican candidates.
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Hancock, who had a team-high 34 aces on the season through the victory over Leyden, has earned a walk-on spot at Pepperdine, a perennial national power.
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The Panthers moved to the 3A classification prior to the start of the 2016-17 school year and have continued their perennial success under first-year coach Matthew Raney, who replaced longtime Snohomish coach Dan Pingrey.
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Voters now have a lot to sift through during its year off, including a surge of new prestige streaming series and a handful of perennial runners-up that could grab the, um, throne.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'perennial'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Nowadays when we talk about "perennial plants," or simply "perennials" ("perennial" can be a noun, too), we mean plants that die back seasonally but produce new growth in the spring. But originally "perennial" was equivalent to "evergreen," used for plants that remain with us all year. We took this "throughout the year" sense straight from the Romans, whose Latin perennis combined "per-" ("throughout") with a form of "annus" ("year"). The poet Ovid, writing around the beginning of the first millennium, used the Latin word to refer to a "perennial spring" (water source), and the scholar Pliny used it of birds that don't migrate. Our "perennial" retains these same uses, for streams and occasionally for birds, but it has long had extended meanings, too.
Synonym Discussion of perennial
PERENNIAL Defined for English Language Learners
perennial
playDefinition of perennial for English Language Learners
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of a plant : living for several years or for many years : having a life cycle that is more than two years long
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: existing or continuing in the same way for a long time
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: happening again and again
PERENNIAL Defined for Kids
Definition of perennial for Students
: a plant that lives from year to year
Word Root of perennial
The Latin word annus, meaning “year,” gives us the root ann or enn. Words from the Latin annus have something to do with a year. Anything that is annual happens once a year and anything biennial happens once every two years. An anniversary is the return every year of the date on which something special happened. Something perennial continues all year long or comes back each year.
Medical Dictionary
perennial
playMedical Definition of perennial
: present at all seasons of the year perennial rhinitis
Learn More about perennial
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See words that rhyme with perennial Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for perennial Spanish Central: Translation of perennial Nglish: Translation of perennial for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of perennial for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about perennial
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