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Synonym Chooser

How is the word perpetual different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of perpetual are constant, continual, continuous, incessant, and perennial. While all these words mean "characterized by continued occurrence or recurrence," perpetual suggests unfailing repetition or lasting duration.

a land of perpetual snowfall

When is constant a more appropriate choice than perpetual?

The words constant and perpetual are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, constant implies uniform or persistent occurrence or recurrence.

lived in constant pain

When can continual be used instead of perpetual?

While the synonyms continual and perpetual are close in meaning, continual often implies a close prolonged succession or recurrence.

continual showers the whole weekend

When would continuous be a good substitute for perpetual?

While in some cases nearly identical to perpetual, continuous usually implies an uninterrupted flow or spatial extension.

football's oldest continuous rivalry

In what contexts can incessant take the place of perpetual?

In some situations, the words incessant and perpetual are roughly equivalent. However, incessant implies ceaseless or uninterrupted activity.

annoyed by the incessant quarreling

When is it sensible to use perennial instead of perpetual?

The synonyms perennial and perpetual are sometimes interchangeable, but perennial implies enduring existence often through constant renewal.

a perennial source of controversy

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of perpetual The hosts’ consciousnesses will be put to sleep in a perpetual dream. Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 11 Mar. 2025 Across fields, the processing limits of the human brain can’t compete with expectations of constant availability, instant information recall, and perpetual content creation. Celia Ford, Vox, 10 Mar. 2025 Spencer and Alex's reunion seems imminent, but the latter's perpetual bad luck threatens to keep them apart. Matt Cabral, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2025 Meanwhile, many security teams find themselves in perpetual firefighting mode, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of security alerts and spending precious hours chasing down false positives. Aviv Mussinger, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for perpetual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perpetual
Adjective
  • Each episode of the UK series — which centers on a 13-year-old boy named Jamie being accused of murder — was filmed in a single take, with some running for more than an hour of continuous action, with school fights, foot chases and multiple location changes all included.
    Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 17 Mar. 2025
  • By nature’s calendar, the best pike fishing of the season was yet to come, providing the ice holds up; pike season is continuous on Lake of the Woods.
    Brad Dokken, Twin Cities, 16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Monitoring efforts are ongoing at Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, which sits near the Mexico-Gautemala-Belize border.
    Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 17 Mar. 2025
  • This also isn't the first time that King has been accused of having an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol in the former couple's ongoing custody battle.
    Staff Author, People.com, 17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • We can all be seduced by the prospect of eternal life and beauty.
    Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
  • The plot-free hangout flick quietly has a ton to say about baseball’s eternal appeal, even as the sport weathers the passage of time.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The series opened with a flash-forward to gunshots at the resort, and a glimpse of a body in the water, and the series has so far made continual references to tsunamis and death by drowning.
    Mark Davis, Newsweek, 14 Mar. 2025
  • A lot of people swoon over the aesthetics of this camera, which helps explain the crazy-long preorder lines and continual shortages of supply.
    Anshel Sag, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • But the episode left an enduring mark on Bezos, the Amazon founder and the world’s second-richest person.
    Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Both the novel and the movie became part of an enduring pop culture lexicon in which any raving dog can be referred to a Cujo.
    Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • For $17 you are saved from endless bickering about which passenger gets the charger, which is especially helpful when traveling as a family.
    Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The modern Republican Party stands for avoiding bloody and costly foreign entanglements while Democrats plead for endless funnels of cash for Ukraine.
    Mark Davis, Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Nearly four years into the category’s continued growth, players new and existing are increasingly iterating beyond the traditional eau de parfum format, leaning into fragrance oils, solid perfumes and body and hair mists.
    Noor Lobad, WWD, 11 Mar. 2025
  • But the priorities outlined – and the signals sent by Xi and his officials during the event – give a crucial window into how Beijing aims to ensure China’s continued economic growth and technological rise, especially at a time of mounting frictions and uncertainty in its relations with the US.
    Simone McCarthy, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • In subsequent retcons and embellishments over the years, before the Big Bang occurred for the seventh round, Galan was infused with the glowing omnipotent essence of the Sentience of the Cosmos to become the immortal being Galactus.
    Jeff Spry, Space.com, 12 Mar. 2025
  • And so Rose, immortal on the field, with a bat, was judged immoral off it by the saints who guard baseball’s gate.
    Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Perpetual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perpetual. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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