Word
perpetuate
Phoneticsper·pet·u·ate
US/pɝˈpɛtʃəˌweɪt/
UK/pəpˈɛtʃuːˌeɪt/
Definition
v. to make a situation, belief, or system continue for a long time. It is often used when talking about bad things, like lies or unfair rules, that stay around because people keep repeating them.
v. to cause something, typically an undesirable situation or an unfounded belief, to continue indefinitely. Often implies the reinforcement of social structures or myths through repetition or lack of intervention.
Examples
“These old movies perpetuate harmful stereotypes about different cultures.”
“The current tax laws perpetuate the wealth gap by favoring those who already own property.”
“Scholars argue that the curriculum continues to perpetuate a Eurocentric view of history, effectively marginalizing the contributions of non-Western civilizations to modern scientific thought.”
Examples
simple
“These old movies perpetuate harmful stereotypes about different cultures.”
contextual
“The current tax laws perpetuate the wealth gap by favoring those who already own property.”
complex
“Scholars argue that the curriculum continues to perpetuate a Eurocentric view of history, effectively marginalizing the contributions of non-Western civilizations to modern scientific thought.”
Usage
The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, such as a myth, system, or cycle.
Pitfall
The problem perpetuates for years.
The problem is perpetuated for years.
Perpetuate is transitive; it needs an object. If the subject is the thing being continued, use the passive voice.
Real-World Examples
“This, she said, “sort of perpetuates this idea that examinations are the most important thing for students.” “Junts per Catalunya also warned it would vote against a new bill if it continued to include measures that "perpetuate squatting and fail to protect either tenants or small landlords”.” Etymology
(16th century) From earlier perpetuat, learned borrowing from Latin perpetuātus (“perpetuated”), perfect passive participle of perpetuō (“to cause to continue uninterruptedly, to proceed with continually, to make perpetual, perpetuate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from perpetuus (“everlasting, perpetual”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), from per- (“thoroughly, very”) + petō (“to ask, request; to look for; to make for (somewhere)”) + -uus (forms adjectives from verbal stems), literally “that is asked with great zeal, over and over again”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread out; to fly”). Cognates * Catalan perpetuar * Italian perpetuare * Old French perpetué (adjective) (Middle French perpetué (adjective)); Middle French perpétuer (verb) (modern French perpétuer (verb)) * Old Occitan perpetuar * Portuguese perpetuar * Spanish perpetuar
From earlier preparat (see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/perpetuate