[ 'pə:pɪtreɪt ]
■ verb carry out or commit (a harmful, illegal, or immoral action).
Derivatives
perpetration noun
perpetrator noun
Origin
C16: from L. perpetrat- , perpetrare 'perform'; in English the verb was first used in the statutes referring to crime, hence the negative association.
Usage
Do not confuse the words ~ and perpetuate . Perpetrate means ‘commit a harmful, illegal, or immoral action’, as in a crime has been ~d against a sovereign state , whereas perpetuate means ‘make something continue indefinitely’, as in a monument to perpetuate the memory of those killed in the war.