ˈpərpə-ˌtrāt, ˈpə̄p-, ˈpəip-, usu -ād.+V transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin perpetratus, past participle of perpetrare, from per-, prefix denoting completion + -petrare (from patrare to carry out, accomplish — probably originally “to perform a ritual” — from patr-, pater father, religious leader) — more at per- , father
1.
a. : to be guilty of (as a crime, an offense) : commit
perpetrated the … massacre — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
the horrors … their former rulers had perpetrated — F.E.Hirsch
that the press … should perpetrate this calumny — Stephen Spender
b. : to carry through (a deception)
had perpetrated a delightful fraud — L.P.Smith
perpetrates a successful practical joke — J.A.Morris b. 1904
— often used with on or upon
a huge hoax perpetrated on a band of solemn votaries — C.H.Grandgent
2. : to produce, perform, or execute badly or in a manner held to be execrable or shocking
perpetrate such an ungainly sentence
perpetrate a pun
the simpering family groups perpetrated on canvas — Dixon Wecter