perpetrate
verb
per·pe·trate
ˈpər-pə-ˌtrāt 
perpetrated; perpetrating
1
: to bring about or carry out (something, such as a crime or deception) : commit
2
: to produce, perform, or execute (something likened to a crime)
perpetrate a pun
Examples of perpetrate in a Sentence
The men were planning to perpetrate a robbery.
The attack was perpetrated by a street gang.
He vowed revenge for the crime perpetrated on his family.
Recent Examples on the Web
In Israel, the literary world censors, silences, distorts, segregates and thus collaborates with the atrocities perpetrated in Gaza.
—
Uriel Kon
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
These violations, perpetrated primarily against Ukrainian prisoners of war, include genital violence such as electrocution, beatings and burns to the genitals, and forced stripping and prolonged nudity, used to humiliate and elicit confessions or information.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Media reporting also overlooks brutal forms of violence perpetrated by men in intimate relationships with women.
—Walter S. Dekeseredy, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2025
Amid the vagaries of the decades-old clash between two nations vying for the same plot of land, one constant has been violence, perpetrated and endured, on minor and colossal scales.
—Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perpetrate
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Uriel Kon
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
These violations, perpetrated primarily against Ukrainian prisoners of war, include genital violence such as electrocution, beatings and burns to the genitals, and forced stripping and prolonged nudity, used to humiliate and elicit confessions or information.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025
Media reporting also overlooks brutal forms of violence perpetrated by men in intimate relationships with women.
—Walter S. Dekeseredy, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2025
Amid the vagaries of the decades-old clash between two nations vying for the same plot of land, one constant has been violence, perpetrated and endured, on minor and colossal scales.
—Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perpetrate
Cite this Entry
“Perpetrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perpetrate. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perpetrate
verb
per·pe·trate
ˈpər-pə-ˌtrāt
perpetrated; perpetrating
: to be guilty of doing : commit
Legal Definition
perpetrate
transitive verb
per·pe·trate
ˈpər-pə-ˌtrāt
perpetrated; perpetrating
: to carry out or bring about (as a crime)
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