English Reference
adjective

perpetual

adj.
US /pɝˈpɛtʃuəɫ/ UK /pəpˈɛtʃuːəl/ per·pet·u·al

  1. 01 C1 Advanced Formal

    lasting forever or for a very long time.

    lasting for an indefinitely long period or for eternity. Often used in legal or formal contexts to describe agreements or states.

    Simple

    The two countries signed a treaty of perpetual peace to end the war.

    In context

    The trust was established to provide perpetual funding for the library, ensuring its operations would continue long after the original donors had passed.

  2. 02 C2 Proficiency Technical Botany

    describing a plant that produces flowers throughout the whole growing season.

    producing a succession of flowers throughout the growing season rather than blooming only once.

    Simple

    These perpetual roses will keep your garden colourful until the first frost.

    In context

    The hybrid perpetual roses became immensely popular in the nineteenth century due to their ability to bloom reliably in both spring and autumn.

    ever blooming

A perpetual caveat: Power plant technologies have important differences to keep in mind when comparing generating capacity.

Ars Technica· 15 Aug 2026

However, there is one that has eluded him and he’s now in a perpetual hunt for it: Walls’ Midnight Mint – a brown choc ice wrapper with an owl on it.

The Guardian· 11 Aug 2026

From Middle English perpetuel, from Old French perpetuel, from Latin perpetuālis (“universal”), from perpetuus, from petō.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin Latin perpetuālis
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated