Meanings
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1
verb
to produce sweat through the pores of the skin; a formal word for sweat
Even in the shade, the runners continued to perspire heavily.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
Word family
Forms
perspiredperspiring
Etymology
Borrowed through French perspirer from Latin perspirare ("to breathe or blow through"), formed from per- ("through") + spirare ("to breathe"). Its English physiological sense arose from the former belief that moisture passed invisibly through the skin like breath.