perpetrate

[pur-pi-treyt] /ˈpɜr pɪˌtreɪt/
verb (used with object), perpetrated, perpetrating.
1.
to commit:
to perpetrate a crime.
2.
to present, execute, or do in a poor or tasteless manner:
Who perpetrated this so-called comedy?
Origin
1540-50; < Latin perpetrātus (past participle of perpetrāre to carry out, execute, perform), equivalent to per- per- + -petr- (combining form of patrāre to father, bring about; see pater) + -ā- theme vowel + -tus past participle suffix; see -ate1
Related forms
perpetrable
[pur-pi-truh-buh l] /ˈpɜr pɪ trə bəl/ (Show IPA), adjective
perpetration, noun
perpetrator, noun
nonperpetration, noun
unperpetrated, adjective
Can be confused
perpetrate, perpetuate.
Examples from the web for perpetrate
  • To address that discomfort, he decides to perpetrate a hoax on the unsuspecting art community.
  • They could still perpetrate the crisis predicted by the alarmists.
  • Vote fraud is no doubt easiest to perpetrate in regions dominated by one party.
  • They belong in prison for the fraud they've tried to perpetrate.
  • But false claims of innocence play directly into the hands of those who perpetrate injustice against the guilty.
  • The main aim should be to make frauds easier to detect and harder to perpetrate.
  • Those of us who are working in this field are not trying to perpetrate some myths on our patients.
  • No, it provides cover for them to perpetrate their fraud even more.
  • What follies electorates perpetrate can be offset in future elections.
  • Mailer's case, his compulsion seems to have been to perpetrate a potboiler.
British Dictionary definitions for perpetrate

perpetrate

/ˈpɜːpɪˌtreɪt/
verb
1.
(transitive) to perform or be responsible for (a deception, crime, etc)
Derived Forms
perpetration, noun
perpetrator, noun
Usage note
Perpetrate and perpetuate are sometimes confused: he must answer for the crimes he has perpetrated (not perpetuated); the book helped to perpetuate (not perpetrate) some of the myths surrounding his early life
Word Origin
C16: from Latin perpetrāre, from per- (thoroughly) + patrāre to perform, perhaps from pater father, leader in the performance of sacred rites
Word Origin and History for perpetrate
v.

1540s, from Latin perpetratus, past participle of perpetrare "to perform, to accomplish," from per- "completely" + patrare "carry out," originally "bring into existence," from pater "father" (see father (n.)). Earlier in English was perpetren, mid-15c., from Old French perpetrer. Neither good nor bad in Latin, first used in English in statutes, hence its sense of "to perform criminally." Related: Perpetrated; perpetrating.