To commit a crime or a violent, harmful act; to carry out a fraud or deception; to produce or do something bad, especially in a humorous way.
The detective spread the case files across her desk and studied them closely. Someone had perpetrated a massive fraud that wiped out the savings of hundreds of families. She was determined to find the person responsible, no matter how long it took.
This meaning is about carrying out a serious crime or an act of violence. Imagine watching the news and the reporter says a group of armed men perpetrated a brutal attack on a village overnight. This is committing a harmful, often violent act — something serious and deliberate. You might hear “the attack was perpetrated by an unknown group” or a lawyer could say “whoever perpetrated this crime will face justice.” Or picture a courtroom where the judge describes the violence perpetrated against innocent people. The word carries a heavy, formal tone — it makes the act sound calculated and serious. ✏️ This word is very often used in passive voice — “the crime was perpetrated by…” is far more common than “he perpetrated a crime.”
Vivid example: The small town was in shock after the robbery. Police said the crime was perpetrated by two men who had been planning it for months. Residents couldn’t believe something like that could happen in their quiet neighborhood.
This meaning is about executing a dishonest scheme — something designed to trick or deceive people. Imagine a company executive who creates fake financial reports to steal millions from investors. He perpetrated an enormous fraud that ruined people’s retirement savings. This is using the word for deception and trickery, not necessarily physical violence. You might hear “the scam was perpetrated through fake emails” or “he perpetrated an elaborate hoax that fooled everyone.” Or think about someone who creates a fake charity and perpetrated a deception by collecting donations that never reach anyone in need. The word suggests something carefully planned and deliberately dishonest. ✏️ Don’t confuse “perpetrate” with “perpetuate” — perpetrate means to commit something bad, while perpetuate means to make something continue.
Vivid example: Nobody suspected the friendly accountant at first. But he had perpetrated a fraud worth millions by quietly moving money into secret accounts over several years. By the time anyone noticed, he had already disappeared.
This meaning is a playful, exaggerated way of saying someone produced or did something terrible — usually something harmless like a bad joke, an awful pun, or a dreadful piece of writing. Imagine your friend tells the worst joke you’ve ever heard and you say “I can’t believe you just perpetrated that pun on us.” This is treating a bad joke as if it were a crime. You might say “who perpetrated this awful poem?” or a friend could groan and say “please don’t perpetrate any more of your dad jokes tonight.” Or picture a food critic writing “the chef has perpetrated an unforgivable crime against pasta.” The word is used for comic effect — comparing something harmless but terrible to an actual offense. ✏️ This usage works because everyone knows perpetrate normally means committing a crime — so using it for a bad joke creates instant humor through exaggeration.
Vivid example: Everyone at the dinner table groaned loudly. Dad had just perpetrated the worst pun anyone had heard all year. He looked around proudly, completely unaware of how painful it was for everyone else.
Examples from the street:
“The fraud was perpetrated by someone inside the company.” → The dishonest scheme was carried out by a person who worked within the organisation
“How could anyone perpetrate such a horrific crime against innocent people?” → How could anyone commit such a terrible act against people who had done nothing wrong
“The scam was perpetrated online, targeting elderly victims across the country.” → The dishonest trick was carried out through the internet, aimed at older people nationwide
Perpetrate as committing a crime or harmful act — VERY COMMON:
– perpetrate a crime/offence → commit an illegal act
– perpetrate a fraud/scam/hoax → carry out a dishonest scheme to deceive people
– perpetrate an attack/act of violence → carry out a violent action
– perpetrate an injustice → commit or cause an unfair act against someone
– perpetrate abuse → carry out harmful or cruel treatment against someone
– perpetrated by someone → committed or carried out by a particular person or group
– perpetrated against someone → done to harm a particular person or group
Perpetrate as spreading false information or maintaining a lie:
– perpetrate a myth/lie/falsehood → spread or keep alive something untrue
– perpetrate a stereotype → actively promote or reinforce a harmful generalisation
– perpetrate misinformation/disinformation → deliberately spread false or misleading information
Example Sentences
1. The attack was perpetrated by a group that had been planning it for months.
→ The violent action was carried out by an organisation that had spent a long period preparing for it.
2. Police believe the burglary was perpetrated by the same gang responsible for a string of break-ins across the city.
→ Officers think the house robbery was committed by the identical criminal group behind a series of forced entries into properties throughout the urban area.
3. It’s hard to believe that such cruelty could be perpetrated against defenceless animals.
→ It’s difficult to accept that such harsh and unkind treatment could be inflicted upon creatures that cannot protect themselves.
4. The accounting fraud was perpetrated over a period of nearly ten years before anyone noticed.
→ The financial deception was carried out across almost a decade before a single person detected it.
5. Online scammers perpetrate identity theft on thousands of unsuspecting victims every year.
→ Internet criminals commit personal data theft affecting thousands of people who have no idea it’s happening, on an annual basis.
6. The regime perpetrated terrible injustices against its own citizens for decades.
→ The ruling government inflicted awful unfair treatment upon the people of its own country for many years.
7. Cybercriminals are perpetrating increasingly sophisticated scams that are harder to detect.
→ Online criminals are carrying out more and more cleverly designed dishonest schemes that are becoming increasingly difficult to spot.
8. The documentary exposed how the company had perpetrated a massive environmental fraud.
→ The film revealed how the business had carried out a huge deception related to its impact on the natural world.
9. Some media outlets continue to perpetrate harmful stereotypes about certain communities.
→ Certain news organisations keep reinforcing damaging generalisations about particular groups of people.
10. The hoax was perpetrated so convincingly that even experts were fooled at first.
→ The deception was carried out so believably that even specialists were initially tricked into thinking it was real.
Learner Examples
1. Bullying perpetrated in schools often goes unreported because students are afraid to speak up.
→ Cruel treatment carried out in educational settings frequently remains hidden because young people are too scared to say anything about it.
2. When myths about language learning are perpetrated — such as “you’re too old to learn” — they discourage students before they even begin.
→ When false beliefs about picking up a new tongue are actively spread — like the idea that age makes it impossible — they put learners off before they’ve even started trying.
✔ Native usage tips
– “Perpetrate” is formal and almost always negative — this word is strongly associated with crime, violence, and wrongdoing. You would never use it for positive or neutral actions. “She perpetrated a kind gesture” would sound bizarre. It belongs exclusively to contexts involving harm, deception, or injustice
– “Perpetrate” vs “perpetuate” — the most confused pair in English — these two words look and sound almost identical but mean completely different things. “Perpetrate” means to commit a crime or harmful act. “Perpetuate” means to make something continue or last indefinitely. “He perpetrated the fraud” (he committed it) vs “he perpetuated the myth” (he kept it going). Mixing them up is extremely common, even among educated native speakers
– “Perpetrator” is the essential noun form — a “perpetrator” is the person who commits the crime. It’s standard vocabulary in police reports, court proceedings, and news coverage. “The perpetrator fled the scene” is a phrase you’ll hear constantly in crime reporting. The informal shortening “perp” is common in American English, especially in crime shows
– The passive voice dominates — “perpetrate” is far more commonly used in the passive than the active. “The crime was perpetrated by…” is much more natural than “he perpetrated a crime.” This is because the focus in news and legal language is usually on the act and the victim, not the criminal
– “Commit” is the everyday alternative — in normal conversation, people say “commit a crime” rather than “perpetrate a crime.” “Perpetrate” appears mainly in news reports, legal documents, academic writing, and formal discussions. If you use it in casual speech, it sounds very serious and official
– Common in discussions about systemic harm — beyond individual crimes, “perpetrate” is increasingly used to talk about injustice, discrimination, and institutional wrongdoing. “Abuse perpetrated by institutions”, “injustices perpetrated against minorities” — these are standard phrases in social and political commentary
✔ Similar expressions / words
– Commit → the standard everyday word for doing something illegal or wrong; “commit a crime”, “commit murder”, “commit fraud” are all far more common in conversation than using “perpetrate”; less formal and works in all registers from casual to legal
– Inflict → focuses on causing suffering or harm to someone; “inflict pain”, “inflict damage”, “inflict suffering” emphasise the impact on the victim, while “perpetrate” focuses more on the act of carrying out the wrongdoing itself; often used together: “violence perpetrated against civilians inflicted lasting trauma”
– Perpetuate → means to make something continue indefinitely, NOT to commit a crime; “perpetuate a stereotype” means to keep it alive, while “perpetrate a stereotype” means to actively promote it; both can work with “myth” and “stereotype” but with subtly different emphasis — continuing vs actively spreading