perpetuation

/pə(ɹ)ˌpɛtjuˈeɪʃən/

//pə(ɹ)ˌpɛtjuˈeɪʃən// noun

"perpetuation" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“perpetuation” is uncommon English (frequency #60,358 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,358
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of prolonging existence, of keeping something alive or active.

Key facts for perpetuation
PropertyValue
Headwordperpetuation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pə(ɹ)ˌpɛtjuˈeɪʃən/
Letters12
Frequency rank#60,358
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “perpetuation” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). perpetuation lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

perpetuation is uncommon English at frequency #60,358 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pə(ɹ)ˌpɛtjuˈeɪʃən/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The act of prolonging existence, of keeping something alive or active.".

Zero misspellings are on record for perpetuation in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is perpetuation, spelled P-E-R-P-E-T-U-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of prolonging existence, of keeping something alive or active.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

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 "perpetuation"?
"perpetuation" is spelled P-E-R-P-E-T-U-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /pə(ɹ)ˌpɛtjuˈeɪʃən/.
What does "perpetuation" mean?
As a noun, "perpetuation" means: The act of prolonging existence, of keeping something alive or active.
How do you pronounce "perpetuation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perpetuation" is /pə(ɹ)ˌpɛtjuˈeɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "perpetuation" come from?
"perpetuation" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “perpetuation”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-E-R-P-E-T-U-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pə(ɹ)ˌpɛtjuˈeɪʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list