perpetuate

IPA/pəˈpetʃueɪt/
KK[pɚpˈɛtʃəwˌet]IPA/pərˈpetʃueɪt/

perpetuate — verb

  • perpetuatepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • perpetuateshe / she / it
  • perpetuatedpast simple
  • perpetuating-ing form

1. to help a situation, belief, or way of doing things stay in place over time, esp

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to help a situation, belief, or way of doing things stay in place over time, especially when it is harmful, unfair, or based on incorrect ideas — for example, repeating lies that strengthen a hurtful stereotype, or paying very low wages that keep poverty going in a community.

Example

Ritu's decision to stay silent only perpetuated the unfair system at her company.

perpetuate + noun phrase (unfair system)

The old law perpetuated a cycle of poverty that affected three generations in the village.

collocation: perpetuate a cycle

Common collocations
  • perpetuate a myth
  • perpetuate a stereotype
  • perpetuate a cycle
  • perpetuate inequality
  • perpetuate poverty
  • perpetuate violence
  • perpetuate an injustice
Synonyms
  • prolong

    more neutral — just means 'make last longer'; does not carry the negative judgment of perpetuate

  • sustain

    can be positive or neutral — focuses on supporting or keeping something going rather than continuing it through time

  • maintain

    neutral — suggests active effort to keep something in its current state, not necessarily over a long period

  • continue

    simpler, everyday word — often intransitive; perpetuate is always transitive and more formal

Antonyms
  • end

    direct opposite — to stop something from continuing

  • abolish

    stronger — to formally put an end to a system, practice, or institution

  • eradicate

    stronger still — to destroy something completely so it cannot return

Grammar Patterns

perpetuate + noun phrase

Usage Note

The object of perpetuate is almost always a negative or undesirable thing — a harmful belief, an unfair system, a damaging cycle, or a mistaken idea. The subject is often an institution, policy, tradition, or repeated behaviour rather than a specific person acting intentionally.

Common Mistakes

The concert perpetuated for three hours.
The concert continued for three hours.
perpetuate is transitive and means keeping something alive or going, not simply lasting over time.
The good news perpetuated her happiness.
The good news prolonged her happiness.
perpetuate usually takes a negative or neutral object (a problem, a myth, a cycle), not a positive feeling.

Word family

  • perpetuation
    nounC1
  • perpetual
    adjectiveB2
  • perpetually
    adverbB2
  • perpetuity
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

While all five verbs involve keeping something going, perpetuate is the only one that carries a strong negative judgment — you perpetuate something harmful or mistaken that ought to stop. Prolong is neutral and often refers to extending time (e.g. prolong a meeting or a stay). Sustain focuses on providing what is needed to keep something at its current level, which can be positive (sustain life, sustain growth). Maintain implies active effort to preserve a state, without any time dimension (maintain order, maintain a friendship). Continue is the most general word and is often intransitive (the rain continued). Perpetuate is always transitive and implies that the continuation is somehow undesirable. For example: maintaining a tradition can be positive; perpetuating a harmful stereotype is negative.

perpetuate ↗prolong ↗sustain ↗maintain ↗continue ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • perpetuate a myth
  • perpetuate a stereotype
  • perpetuate a cycle
  • perpetuate inequality
  • perpetuate poverty
  • perpetuate violence
  • perpetuate an injustice
  • perpetuate a system

Adverbs

  • perpetuate indefinitely
  • perpetuate endlessly
  • perpetuate unconsciously
  • perpetuate deliberately

Phrases

  • perpetuate the status quo
  • perpetuate a vicious cycle
  • perpetuate a false belief

Prepositions

  • perpetuate through
  • perpetuate by
  • perpetuate in

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Perpetuate comes from Latin perpetuatus, the past participle of perpetuare meaning 'to make permanent'. This verb grew out of perpetuus ('continuous, unbroken'), which was formed from per- ('through') and petere ('to go towards, to seek'). The idea is of something that keeps going all the way through time without breaking. English borrowed the word in the 1500s via French perpétuer, and it has kept the formal, slightly academic flavour of its Latin origin.

First known use

1530

1530, in the meaning defined above