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perpetration.

NounUK /ˌpɜː.pəˈtreɪ.ʃən/; US /ˌpɝː.pəˈtreɪ.ʃən/ — pur-puh-TRAY-shuhnper-pe-tra-tion; four syllables; main stress on tra
Formal
MEANING

The act of carrying out a crime or another harmful or seriously wrongful action.

Use it for

naming the act of committing a crime; discussing the carrying out of abuse or violence; describing involvement in wrongdoing; distinguishing doing harm from merely witnessing it; analyzing conditions that enable harmful actsNames the doing of a harmful act, rather than the person responsible or the continuation of an existing situation. Writing functions: Responsibility / Carrying out wrongdoing.

Words that belong together

  • the perpetration of a crime
  • the perpetration of fraud
  • the perpetration of violence
  • participation in the perpetration of an offense

On the page

The investigation examined whether poor supervision had enabled the perpetration of fraud.
Her essay distinguishes witnessing abuse from participating in its perpetration.

Nearby words

commission — when referring to an offensecarrying out — more general and not inherently wrongful

Related words

perpetrate — related verbperpetrator — person who carries out the actperpetuation — a different word meaning making something continue
Word forms
Base
perpetration

Usage notes

Normally uncountable: perpetration; the perpetration of a crime, fraud, violence, or abuse. No ordinary plural is needed in this sense. This is a noun, not a verb form. Pronunciation: /ˌpɜː.pəˈtreɪ.ʃən/ (UK), /ˌpɝː.pəˈtreɪ.ʃən/ (US) — pur-puh-TRAY-shuhn. Register: formal. Commonness: uncommon in everyday conversation; established in formal, legal, and research writing (dictionary-informed qualitative editorial estimate; not a measured frequency).

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