perpetrate

«perpetrate» in Mova's school dictionary: To do something wrong, harmful or illegal, such as a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

verb (perpetrate, perpetrates, perpetrated, perpetrating)

meaning for a pupil

(formal) To do something wrong, harmful or illegal, such as a crime or a trick. tree →

sense in the lessons

In news, law and history, crimes, frauds and attacks are "perpetrated"; the person who did it is the perpetrator. It is a formal, serious word. In mystery stories, detectives find out who perpetrated the crime. Sometimes used jokingly: "Who perpetrated this terrible pun?"

examples

• The police found who perpetrated the robbery. tree →
• Crimes perpetrated during wars must be investigated. tree →
• The trick was perpetrated by two clever boys. tree →
• "Who perpetrated this mess?" asked Dad. tree →
• The fraud was perpetrated over many years. tree →
• History remembers those who perpetrated great cruelty. tree →

note

Formal regular verb. Person: perpetrator. Trap: do not confuse with "perpetuate" (to make something carry on). Perpetrate = commit a bad act; perpetuate = keep it going.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «perpetrate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.