perpetrate

/ˈpɜː(ɹ).pəˌtɹeɪt/

//ˈpɜː(ɹ).pəˌtɹeɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"perpetrate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“perpetrate” is uncommon English (frequency #54,394 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,394
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To be guilty of, or responsible for a crime etc; to commit.

Corpus desk

Index EN-perpetrate · perpetrate · English

perpetrate · rank #54,394 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,394
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Perera

Nearest frequency peer: Perera (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “perpetrate”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “perpetrate” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for perpetrate
PropertyValue
Headwordperpetrate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpɜː(ɹ).pəˌtɹeɪt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#54,394
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “perpetrate” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).perpetratefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Perera” (#54,393), “petunia” (#54,395), “phosphoric” (#54,396). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “perpetrate” is #54,394. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

perpetrate is uncommon English at frequency #54,394 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈpɜː(ɹ).pəˌtɹeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To be guilty of, or responsible for a crime etc; to commit.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for perpetrate, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English perpetrat (“committed, perpetrated”), from Latin perpetrātus, past participle of perpetrare (“to carry through”), from per (“through”) + patrare (“to perform”), akin to potis (“able”), potens (“powerful”); see potent. The correct English form is perpetrate, spelled P-E-R-P-E-T-R-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To be guilty of, or responsible for a crime etc; to commit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how perpetrate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. perpetrate a murder
  2. What Polina is good for is to fall head over ears in love. That is MY opinion. Look at her—especially when she is sitting alone, and plunged in thought. All this was pre-ordained and foretold, and is accursed. Polina could perpetrate any mad act. She—she—But who called me by name?" I broke off.

Etymology

From Middle English perpetrat (“committed, perpetrated”), from Latin perpetrātus, past participle of perpetrare (“to carry through”), from per (“through”) + patrare (“to perform”), akin to potis (“able”), potens (“powerful”); see potent.

This word in other languages

perpetrar(Español)perpétrer(Français)begehen(Deutsch)perpetrar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "perpetrate"?
"perpetrate" is spelled P-E-R-P-E-T-R-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɜː(ɹ).pəˌtɹeɪt/.
What does "perpetrate" mean?
As a verb, "perpetrate" means: To be guilty of, or responsible for a crime etc; to commit.
How do you pronounce "perpetrate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perpetrate" is /ˈpɜː(ɹ).pəˌtɹeɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "perpetrate"?
From Middle English perpetrat (“committed, perpetrated”), from Latin perpetrātus, past participle of perpetrare (“to carry through”), from per (“through”) + patrare (“to perform”), akin to potis (“able”), potens (“powerful”); see potent. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "perpetrate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

phosphoric#54,396pragmatist#54,404protrusion#54,413psilocybin#54,416

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list