Perpetual

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: per=pet=u=al

CIDE DICTIONARY

Perpetual, a. [OE. perpetuel, F. perpétuel, fr. L. perpetualis, fr. perpetuus continuing throughout, continuous, fr. perpes, -etis, lasting throughout.].

 Neverceasing; continuing forever or for an unlimited time; unfailing; everlasting; continuous.  [1913 Webster]
"Unto the kingdom of perpetual night."  [1913 Webster]
"Perpetual feast of nectared sweets."  [1913 Webster]

Circle of perpetual apparition, or Circle of perpetual occultation. See under Circle. -- Perpetual calendar, a calendar so devised that it may be adjusted for any month or year. -- Perpetual curacy (Ch. of Eng.), a curacy in which all the tithes are appropriated, and no vicarage is endowed. Blackstone. -- Perpetual motion. See under Motion. -- Perpetual screw. See Endless screw, under Screw.

Syn. -- Continual; unceasing; endless; everlasting; incessant; constant; eternal. See Constant.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Perpetual, adj.
1 eternal; lasting for ever or indefinitely.
2 continuous, uninterrupted.
3 colloq. frequent, much repeated (perpetual interruptions).
4 permanent during life (perpetual secretary).

Idiom

perpetual calendar a calendar which can be adjusted to show any combination of day, month, and year. perpetual check Chess the position of play when a draw is obtained by repeated checking of the king. perpetual motion the motion of a hypothetical machine which once set in motion would run for ever unless subject to an external force or to wear.

Derivative

perpetualism n. perpetually adv.

Etymology

ME f. OF perpetuel f. L perpetualis f. perpetuus f. perpes -etis continuous

THESAURUS

Perpetual

abiding, age-long, aged, ageless, all-comprehensive, all-inclusive, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-seeing, all-wise, almighty, ancient, antique, boundless, ceaseless, changeless, chattering, chronic, coeternal, constant, continual, continuing, continuous, countless, creating, creative, dateless, diuturnal, durable, endless, enduring, eternal, eternally the same, eterne, ever-being, ever-durable, ever-during, evergreen, everlasting, everliving, exhaustless, extending everywhere, firm, fixed, frozen, glorious, good, hallowed, hardy, highest, holy, illimitable, illimited, immeasurable, immemorial, immense, immobile, immortal, immutable, incalculable, incessant, incomprehensible, indestructible, inexhaustible, infinite, infinitely continuous, innumerable, intact, interminable, interminate, intransient, invariable, inveterate, inviolate, just, lasting, limitless, long-lasting, long-lived, long-standing, long-term, longeval, longevous, loving, luminous, machine gun, macrobiotic, majestic, making, measureless, merciful, never-ceasing, never-ending, no end of, nonstop, nonterminating, nonterminous, numinous, of long duration, of long standing, olamic, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, one, oscillating, perdurable, perduring, perennial, permanent, persistent, persisting, pulsating, quiescent, radiant, rapid, recurrent, regular, remaining, repeated, repetitive, rigid, sacred, sempervirent, sempiternal, shaping, shoreless, solid, sovereign, stable, staccato, static, stationary, staying, steadfast, steady, stuttering, sumless, supreme, sustained, termless, timeless, torpid, tough, ubiquitous, unaltered, unbounded, unbroken, unceasing, unchangeable, unchanged, unchanging, unchecked, uncircumscribed, undefined, undestroyed, undeviating, unending, unfading, unfailing, unfathomable, unintermitted, unintermittent, unintermitting, uninterrupted, universal, unlimited, unmeasurable, unmeasured, unnumbered, unplumbed, unremitting, unshifting, unstopped, untold, unvaried, unvarying, vibrating, vital, without bound, without end, without limit, without measure, without number

ROGET THESAURUS

Perpetual

Infinity

N infinity, infinitude, infiniteness, perpetuity, boundlessness, infinite, immense, numberless, countless, sumless, measureless, innumerable, immeasurable, incalculable, illimitable, inexhaustible, interminable, unfathomable, unapproachable, exhaustless, indefinite, without number, without measure, without limit, without end, incomprehensible, limitless, endless, boundless, termless, untold, unnumbered, unmeasured, unbounded, unlimited, illimited, perpetual, infinitely, ad infinitum, as boundless as the sea.

Diuturnity

N diuturnity, a long time, a length of time, an age, a century, an eternity, slowness, perpetuity, blue moon, coon's age, dog's age, durableness, durability, persistence, endlessness, lastingness, continuance, standing, permanence, survival, survivance, longevity, distance of time, protraction of time, prolongation of time, extension of time, delay, durable, lasting, of long duration, of long-standing, permanent, endless, chronic, long-standing, intransient, intransitive, intransmutable, persistent, lifelong, livelong, longeval, long-lived, macrobiotic, diuturnal, evergreen, perennial, sempervirent, sempervirid, unrelenting, unintermitting, unremitting, perpetual, lingering, protracted, prolonged, spun out, long-pending, long-winded, slow, long, for a long time, for an age, for ages, for ever so long, for many a long day, long ago, longo intervallo, all the day long, all the year round, the livelong day, as the day is long, morning noon and night, hour after hour, day after day, for good, permanently.

Perpetuity

N perpetuity, eternity, everness, aye, sempiternity, immortality, athanasia, interminability, agelessness, everlastingness, perpetuation, continued existence, uninterrupted existence, perennity, permanence (durability), perpetual, eternal, everduring, everlasting, ever-living, ever- flowing, continual, sempiternal, coeternal, endless, unending, ceaseless, incessant, uninterrupted, indesinent, unceasing, endless, unending, interminable, having no end, unfading, evergreen, amaranthine, neverending, never-dying, never-fading, deathless, immortal, undying, imperishable, perpetually, always, ever, evermore, aye, for ever, for aye, till the end of the universe, forevermore, forever and a day, for ever and ever, in all ages, from age to age, without end, world without end, time without end, in secula seculorum, to the end of time, to the crack of doom, to the 'last syllable of recorded time', till doomsday, constantly, esto perpetuum, labitur et labetur in omne volubilis oevum, but thou shall flourish in immortal youth, Eternity! thou pleasing, dreadful thought, her immortal part with angels lives, ohne Rast ora e sempre.

Frequency

N frequency, oftness, oftenness, commonness, repetition, normality, example (conformity), routine, custom (habit), regularity, uniformity, constancy, clock-work precision, punctuality, even tenor, system, routine, formula, rule, keynote, standard, model, precedent, conformity, frequent, many times, not rare, thickcoming, incessant, perpetual, continual, steady, constant, thick, uniform, repeated, customary, (habit), regular (normal), according to rule, common, everyday, usual, ordinary, familiar, old-hat, boring, well-known, trivial, often, oft, ofttimes, oftentimes, frequently, repeatedly, unseldom, not unfrequently, in quick succession, in rapid succession, many a time and oft, daily, hourly, every day, every hour, every moment, perpetually, continually, constantly, incessantly, without ceasing, at all times, daily and hourly, night and day, day and night, day after day, morning noon and night, ever anon, invariably (habit), most often, commonly, sometimes, occasionally, at times, now and then, from time to time, there being times when, toties quoties, often enough, when the mood strikes, again and again.