perpetrate
/ˈpɜː(ɹ).pəˌtɹeɪt/verb
perpetrate is spelled P-E-R-P-E-T-R-A-T-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,192nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, perpetrate means “To be guilty of, or responsible for a crime etc; to commit” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in perpetrate?
| Letters | 10: P-E-R-P-E-T-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 54,192nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is perpetrate?
Perpetrate appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 54,192nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce perpetrate?
- /ˈpɜː(ɹ).pəˌtɹeɪt/
Perpetrate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-perpetrate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of perpetrate
- perpetrates present, singular, he/she/it
- perpetrating participle, present
- perpetrated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does perpetrate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To be guilty of, or responsible for a crime etc; to commit.
perpetrate a murder
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Perpetrate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to be guilty of, or responsible for; to commit – see also commit:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does perpetrate come from?
From Middle English perpetrat (“committed, perpetrated”), from Latin perpetrātus, past participle of perpetrāre (“to carry through”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).