perpetrate
/ˈpəːpɪtreɪt
/verb [with object]
Carry out or commit (a harmful, illegal, or immoral action): a crime has been perpetrated against a sovereign state...
- At some level, if a guy is pathologically committed to perpetrating fraud, you're not going to be able to stop him very often.
- Why do these criminals feel they can perpetrate such horrendous crimes and get away with it?
- Violent suppression and opinion monopoly are used by all totalitarian political systems for the purpose of perpetrating their immoral rule.
Synonyms
commit, carry out, perform, execute, do, effect, bring about, be guilty of, be to blame for, be responsible for, accomplish, inflict, wreak
informal pull off, pull
rare effectuate
Usage
The words perpetrate and perpetuate are sometimes confused. Perpetrate means ‘commit a harmful, illegal, or immoral action’, as in a crime has been perpetrated against a sovereign state, whereas perpetuate means ‘make something continue indefinitely’, as in a monument to perpetuate the memory of those killed in the war.
Derivatives
perpetration
/ noun ...- Four youths were arrested on criminal charges, including third-degree assault, harassment and perpetration of a hate crime.
- Instead, the indictment charges him with having planned, ordered, instigated, or assisted in the perpetration of these crimes.
- To my way of thinking, ‘crime’ is defined as the perpetration of harm upon an ‘innocent’ victim.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from Latin perpetrat- 'performed', from the verb perpetrare, from per- 'to completion' + patrare 'bring about'. In Latin the act perpetrated might be good or bad; in English the verb was first used in the statutes referring to crime, hence the negative association.