Perpetrate

Pronunciation: /ˈpɜːrpɪˌtreɪt/

Definitions of perpetrate

verb to commit or carry out (a harmful, illegal, or immoral action)

Example Sentences

A1 The children were scared to admit who perpetrated the prank.

A2 The thief perpetrated the crime under the cover of darkness.

B1 The hacker perpetrated a cyber attack on the company's database.

B2 The dictator perpetrated numerous human rights violations during his reign.

C1 The mastermind behind the Ponzi scheme perpetrated fraud on a massive scale.

C2 The serial killer perpetrated a series of gruesome murders over the span of several years.

Examples of perpetrate in a Sentence

formal The suspect was caught red-handed trying to perpetrate a robbery.

informal I can't believe he tried to perpetrate such a dumb crime.

slang Those guys are always looking for ways to perpetrate scams.

figurative His words seemed to perpetrate a sense of unease among the group.

Grammatical Forms of perpetrate

• past tense: perpetrated
• plural: perpetrates
• comparative: more perpetrating
• superlative: most perpetrating
• present tense: perpetrate
• future tense: will perpetrate
• perfect tense: has perpetrated
• continuous tense: is perpetrating
• singular: perpetrator
• positive degree: perpetrator
• infinitive: to perpetrate
• gerund: perpetrating
• participle: perpetrated

Origin and Evolution of perpetrate

First Known Use: 1537 year

Language of Origin: Latin

Story behind the word: The word 'perpetrate' originated from the Latin word 'perpetratus', which means 'carried out' or 'committed'.

Evolution of the word: Over time, 'perpetrate' has retained its original meaning of committing or carrying out a harmful or illegal act, but has also come to be used in a broader sense to refer to any action that is done intentionally or deliberately.