perpetuate
verb
per·pet·u·ate
pər-ˈpe-chə-ˌwāt 
perpetuated; perpetuating
: to make perpetual or cause to last indefinitely
perpetuate the species
Examples of perpetuate in a Sentence
He perpetuates the myth that his house is haunted.
Fears about an epidemic are being perpetuated by the media.
Recent Examples on the Web
That's up to us to be honest about why that continues to happen and stop perpetuating that cycle of failure.
—
Arkansas Online, 3 Sep. 2025
If the historical hiring data used to train the AI reflects past biases (say, favoring candidates from specific demographics or with particular backgrounds), the AI will simply perpetuate and magnify these biases.
—Jason Elkin, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The fairy tale illusion is perpetuated by Amal’s wardrobe, too.
—María Mérida, Glamour, 29 Aug. 2025
The rippling fallout of war on families has long been fertile ground for cinema — trauma is calcified while secrets from the past become myths, either perpetuated long enough to solidify into fact or exposed as falsehoods that cause entire identities to be questioned.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perpetuate
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Arkansas Online, 3 Sep. 2025
If the historical hiring data used to train the AI reflects past biases (say, favoring candidates from specific demographics or with particular backgrounds), the AI will simply perpetuate and magnify these biases.
—Jason Elkin, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The fairy tale illusion is perpetuated by Amal’s wardrobe, too.
—María Mérida, Glamour, 29 Aug. 2025
The rippling fallout of war on families has long been fertile ground for cinema — trauma is calcified while secrets from the past become myths, either perpetuated long enough to solidify into fact or exposed as falsehoods that cause entire identities to be questioned.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perpetuate
Cite this Entry
“Perpetuate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perpetuate. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perpetuate
verb
per·pet·u·ate
pər-ˈpech-ə-ˌwāt
perpetuated; perpetuating
: to make perpetual or cause to last indefinitely
Legal Definition
perpetuate
transitive verb
per·pet·u·ate
pər-ˈpe-chə-ˌwāt
perpetuated; perpetuating
: to preserve or make available (testimony) for later use at a trial by means of deposition especially when the evidence so gathered would be otherwise unavailable or lost
Note: Courts will not allow the perpetuation of testimony at a pretrial proceeding if it appears to be an attempt to fish for useful material.
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