perpetrate

[ pur-pi-treyt ]
See synonyms for perpetrate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),per·pe·trat·ed, per·pe·trat·ing.
  1. to commit: to perpetrate a crime.

  2. to present, execute, or do in a poor or tasteless manner: Who perpetrated this so-called comedy?

Origin of perpetrate

1
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin perpetrātus (past participle of perpetrāre “to carry out, execute, perform”), equivalent to per- per- + -petr- (combining form of patrāre “to father, bring abou”t; see pater) + -ā- thematic vowel + -tus past participle suffix; see -ate1

Other words from perpetrate

  • per·pe·tra·ble [pur-pi-truh-buhl], /ˈpɜr pɪ trə bəl/, adjective
  • per·pe·tra·tion [pur-pi-trey-shuhn], /ˌpɜr pɪˈtreɪ ʃən/, noun
  • per·pe·tra·tor, noun
  • non·per·pe·tra·tion, noun

Words that may be confused with perpetrate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use perpetrate in a sentence

  • Anyone who perpetrates such an evil is mentally ill, almost by definition.

  • The man who perpetrates a villany, and resolves to go on with it, shows not the compunction I show.

    Clarissa, Volume 6 (of 9) | Samuel Richardson
  • Aunt Ruyvenaer here perpetrates the blunder, common among half-caste ladies, of mixing up two separate Dutch proverbs.

    Small Souls | Louis Couperus
  • Nevertheless, he perpetrates in his own person the very fault which he discerns and corrects when he notes it in another!

    Boating | W. B. Woodgate
  • If one nowadays perpetrates an original joke, one immediately afterward finds it in the Sanskirt.

    An Old Town By The Sea | Thomas Bailey Aldrich

British Dictionary definitions for perpetrate

perpetrate

/ (ˈpɜːpɪˌtreɪt) /


verb
  1. (tr) to perform or be responsible for (a deception, crime, etc)

Origin of perpetrate

1
C16: from Latin perpetrāre, from per- (thoroughly) + patrāre to perform, perhaps from pater father, leader in the performance of sacred rites

usage For perpetrate

Perpetrate and perpetuate are sometimes confused: he must answer for the crimes he has perpetrated (not perpetuated); the book helped to perpetuate (not perpetrate) some of the myths surrounding his early life

Derived forms of perpetrate

  • perpetration, noun
  • perpetrator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012