permanent 1 of 2

permanent

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective permanent contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of permanent are durable, lasting, and stable. While all these words mean "enduring for so long as to seem fixed or established," permanent adds usually the implication of being designed or planned to stand or continue indefinitely.

permanent living arrangements

When is it sensible to use durable instead of permanent?

Although the words durable and permanent have much in common, durable implies power to resist destructive agencies.

durable fabrics

When would lasting be a good substitute for permanent?

The words lasting and permanent can be used in similar contexts, but lasting implies a capacity to continue indefinitely.

a book that left a lasting impression on me

When is stable a more appropriate choice than permanent?

The meanings of stable and permanent largely overlap; however, stable implies lastingness because of resistance to being overturned or displaced.

a stable government

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of permanent
Adjective
The process is designed to be fluid, so a brand can graduate from an in-store residency to a pop-up and maybe a permanent store. Booth Moore, WWD, 13 Dec. 2024 Maresca is the third permanent head coach hired by the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium. Simon Johnson and Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 13 Dec. 2024
Noun
If hotness is an effort to make the ephemeral permanent, then illness is a constant reminder of how nothing is forever. Michelle Santiago Cortés, refinery29.com, 26 June 2021 The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is working on making three Slow Streets closed to through traffic during the pandemic permanent: Page, Shotwell and Sanchez streets. Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Feb. 2021 See all Example Sentences for permanent 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for permanent
Adjective
  • That’s part of the fun of writing the show with these sort of eternal characters, who’ve been around forever.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2024
  • Kim uses lady bugs as berries to symbolize good fortune, the wreaths to symbolize eternal unity and the candles to symbolize light in darkness.
    Bakr Muhammad, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Her stylist at Looks Salon in Columbia, Maryland, will give her a feathery Farrah Fawcett look or a perm, and her bangs always come out fluffed to perfection.
    Michelle Lee, People.com, 28 Nov. 2024
  • Visually, it is defined by sequined dresses and star Blake Lively’s gigantic crimson perm.
    Coleman Spilde, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2024
Adjective
  • Feel your immortal soul being warmed and suffused with pleasures both rare and immeasurable.
    Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
  • But incredibly, when faced with threats from injury to starvation, the immortal jellyfish can reverse the process, turning the clock backward.
    Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • That’s what the slick dude with the conk and the blue Pontiac says to Elwood, who is hitching a ride to get to college.
    Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Everybody had a new car and a conk.
    New York Times, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2021
Adjective
  • The first episode of Dexter-the-killer’s origin story is an endless callback to the original series that is sure to delight the most devoted of Dexter fans.
    Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2024
  • The movie was filmed in London over eight endless months; the script kept being rewritten, necessitating several reshoots.
    Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Gibson spends most of the premiere in a ridiculous wig of surfer curls; by the end, he’s got Hall’s haircut, and his inner monologue sounds suspiciously like his predecessor.
    Alison Herman, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Guests enjoy an extensive menu of cocktails and meals that are included in the cost of admission, as well as spa and beauty offerings such as manicures, pedicures, haircuts and massages, for an additional fee.
    Chris Dong, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Scattered across the New York City subway system, strewn between its millions of comers and goers, are thousands of long-term loiters, perpetual itinerants, and permanent subterranean residents.
    Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 18 Dec. 2024
  • And for Paul and Lydia, the house is a perpetual reminder of the death of their son, a loss that time hasn’t begun to heal.
    Mark Peikert, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Palmer also sported bangs and a voluminous hairstyle.
    Catherine Santino, People.com, 16 Dec. 2024
  • Her glam featured a straight hairstyle with a middle part and her makeup included rosy cheeks and a glossy lip for a final touch of semi-old school glamour.
    Julia Teti, WWD, 12 Dec. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near permanent

Cite this Entry

“Permanent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/permanent. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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