perpetual

adjective per·pet·u·al \ pər-ˈpe-chə-wəl , -chəl ; -ˈpech-wəl \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

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Examples: perpetual in a Sentence

Definition of perpetual

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

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perpetually

adverb

See perpetual defined for English-language learners

See perpetual defined for kids

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 of perpetual from the Web

Then there is the perpetual problem of how to allocate scarce resources, or determining which chronically homeless gets a spot in the new facility.

— hank beckman, chicagotribune.com, "First clients ready to move into La Grange BEDS Plus facility for chronically homeless," 16 Apr. 2018
Separately, perpetual bondholders are being offered a few cents on the dollar.

— Fortune, "Noble Group Warns Losses May Near $5 Billion as It Pursues a Deal," 18 Feb. 2018
Competing cable channels give each view ample airtime, and American politics seems lost in the fog of perpetual war.

— ian bremmer, Time, "Aside From Twitter, Trump Has Mostly Governed Like a Garden-Variety Republican," 11 Jan. 2018
But their perpetual attempts to pull the game’s narrative in their favor only seems natural.

— alejandro chacoff, The Atlantic, "Soccer Has No Interest in Fairness," 12 July 2018
The reverend who leads the local church, locked in perpetual mourning after an accident took the lives of four local teens, instills that cutting edge dancing and music are unlawful.

— karie angell luc, chicagotribune.com, "Wilmette's high energy 'Footloose' production shares message of empowering teens," 12 July 2018
So far, spirulina remains the food of the perpetual future.

— The Economist, "The future of food, served up right here in augmented reality," 7 July 2018
Callous disregard for the will of the people, ongoing lip service to reform advocates, perpetual aversion to transformative change, and institutional unwillingness to act in any interest other than its own.

— john baer, Philly.com, "Two Pa. House and Senate leaders (sorta) defend our lackluster legislature | John Baer," 1 July 2018
And though the show was was canceled in 1971, has been in almost perpetual syndication ever since.

— john d'anna, azcentral, "'Hogan's Heroes' star Bob Crane was murdered 40 years ago. Why does it still fascinate us?," 29 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of perpetual

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

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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perpetual Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of perpetual

continual, continuous, constant, incessant, perpetual, perennial mean characterized by continued occurrence or recurrence. continual often implies a close prolonged succession or recurrence.