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
Without the breakup and other meaningful reforms, a Meta win could preserve the status quo and see the company never open up its platforms, perhaps perpetuating Meta's influence over social media well into the future.
—
ArsTechnica, 21 May 2025
Given the historical biases in hiring practices, many job seekers worry that AI might perpetuate or even amplify these biases.
—Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
That didn’t stop Trump from perpetuating the unsubstantiated claim to the contrary through his posts, something Young sees as a distraction from what’s really important.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 20 May 2025
Despite laws against such treatment, weak enforcement often allows perpetrators to escape with minimal consequences, perpetuating the cycle of abuse.
—Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for perpetuate
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
ArsTechnica, 21 May 2025
Given the historical biases in hiring practices, many job seekers worry that AI might perpetuate or even amplify these biases.
—Caroline Castrillon, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
That didn’t stop Trump from perpetuating the unsubstantiated claim to the contrary through his posts, something Young sees as a distraction from what’s really important.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 20 May 2025
Despite laws against such treatment, weak enforcement often allows perpetrators to escape with minimal consequences, perpetuating the cycle of abuse.
—Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 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 24 May. 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.
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share