Perpetrate

//ˈpɜː(ɹ).pəˌtɹeɪt// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To be guilty of, or responsible for a crime etc; to commit. transitive

    "perpetrate a murder"

  2. 2
    perform an act, usually with a negative connotation wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
accomplishachievebe responsible forbring aboutbring offbring to pass

Example

More examples

"What atrocities do we not perpetrate in the name of culture and refinement!"

Etymology

From Middle English perpetrat (“committed, perpetrated”), from Latin perpetrātus, past participle of perpetrare (“to carry through”), from per (“through”) + patrare (“to perform”), akin to potis (“able”), potens (“powerful”); see potent.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.