perennial

adjective pe·ren·ni·al \ pə-ˈre-nē-əl \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: perennial in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

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

3 a : persistent, enduring

perennial favorites

b : continuing without interruption : constant, perpetual

the perennial quest for certainty

a perennial student

c : regularly repeated or renewed : recurrent

death is a perennial literary theme

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perennial

noun

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perennially

play \pə-ˈre-nē-ə-lē\ adverb

See perennial defined for English-language learners

See perennial defined for kids

perennial was our Word of the Day on 03/31/2009. Hear the podcast!

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
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
… 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
This variety of oregano is perennial.
Flooding is a perennial problem for people living by the river.

Recent Examples of perennial from the Web

For the first time since 2011, the perennial winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus is not up for best actress in a comedy.

— john koblin, New York Times, "Emmy Nominations 2018: ‘Game of Thrones’ and Netflix Lead the Way," 13 July 2018
This seems reasonable for players expected to be perennial all-pros but still lacking pro experience.

— nate davis, USA TODAY, "'Madden NFL 19' player ratings: 9 head-turning observations include slight to Eli Manning," 12 July 2018
Much of that money apparently was spent on following the perennial playoff also-rans.

— joe knowles, chicagotribune.com, "Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh got into debt buying Nationals tickets," 12 July 2018
UIndy opens the season against GVSU again, and could set the tone for another productive year with another win over a perennial Division II power.

— matthew glenesk, Indianapolis Star, "Ranking Indiana's top 50 college football games in 2018," 11 July 2018
Burbank only lost one key player to graduation and has the luxury of having its best player back in senior Osanna Tirityan, a perennial All-Area and All-Pacific League player and former All-CIF honoree.

— jeff tully, latimes.com, "LoVett, Providence defense hold Burbank at bay in summer girls' basketball," 11 July 2018
And the Clippers played in the same climate as the Lakers for all those seasons when GM West was turning the Lakers into a perennial Finals participant and owner Donald Sterling was turning the Clippers into an embarrassment.

— jack mccallum, SI.com, "Go West, Big Man: The Logo on LeBron James and the Allure of Los Angeles," 11 July 2018
If one was starting off in the perennial gardening world, this would be a great place to start.

— paul cappiello, The Courier-Journal, "Gardeners can go from OK to superb with the help of these websites," 6 July 2018
President Donald Trump’s approval rating in Texas (39% according to Gallup) is lower than in North Carolina or Florida, both perennial swing states.

— The Economist, "Demography is not destinyBuilding a multiracial coalition is more difficult than it seems," 12 July 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of perennial

Latin perennis, from per- throughout + annus year — more at per-, annual

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1660

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

perennial Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of perennial

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

Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, briar, composite, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

PERENNIAL Defined for English Language Learners

perennial

adjective

Definition of perennial for English Language Learners

of a plant : living for several years or for many years : having a life cycle that is more than two years long
: existing or continuing in the same way for a long time
: happening again and again

PERENNIAL Defined for Kids

perennial

adjective pe·ren·ni·al \ pə-ˈre-nē-əl \

Definition of perennial for Students

1 : present all through the year

a perennial stream

2 : living from year to year

a perennial plant

3 : never ending : constant

perennial joy

4 : happening again and again

perennial flooding

perennial

noun

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.