perpetual

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /pɚˈpɛtʃuəl/ UK /pəˈpɛtʃuəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
never ending or changing; occurring repeatedly

They lived under the perpetual hum of the highway.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · never ending or changing;... everlasting eternal endless ceaseless constant continual unending incessant

Opposites

temporary transient intermittent fleeting occasional

Word family

Derived forms perpetuallyperpetualness

Related forms perpetuate perpetuity perpetuation

Etymology

From Old French perpetuel, from Latin perpetualis, from perpetuus ('continuous, uninterrupted'), from perpetis, genitive of perpes ('lasting throughout'), from per- ('through') + petere ('to seek, go toward').

perpetuus Latin petere Latin *pet- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# perpetual

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** pɚˈpɛtʃuəl
**IPA (UK):** pəˈpɛtʃuəl

## Meanings
1. never ending or changing; occurring repeatedly

## Examples
- They lived under the perpetual hum of the highway.

## Synonyms
- everlasting
- eternal
- endless
- ceaseless
- constant
- continual
- unending
- incessant

## Antonyms
- temporary
- transient
- intermittent
- fleeting
- occasional

## Derived Forms
- perpetually
- perpetualness

## Related Forms
- perpetuate
- perpetuity
- perpetuation

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: perpetuus
- Root: petere
- Root: *pet-

## Etymology
From Old French perpetuel, from Latin perpetualis, from perpetuus ('continuous, uninterrupted'), from perpetis, genitive of perpes ('lasting throughout'), from per- ('through') + petere ('to seek, go toward').

## AI Etymology
Perpetual comes from Old French perpetuel, from Latin perpetualis, from perpetuus ('continuous, uninterrupted'), from perpetis, genitive of perpes ('lasting throughout'), from per- ('through') + petere ('to seek, go toward'). The historical trail runs through Latin perpetuus, Latin petere and Proto-Indo-European *pet-. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means never ending or changing; occurring repeatedly. Derived formations include perpetually, perpetualness; related forms include perpetuate, perpetuity, perpetuation.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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perpetual

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