From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishperpetualper‧pet‧u‧al /pəˈpetʃuəl $ pər-/ ●○○ adjective [usually before noun] 1 CONTINUOUScontinuing all the time without changing or stopping SYN continuous the perpetual noise of the machines a little girl with a perpetual smile► see thesaurus at permanent2 CONTINUOUSrepeated many times in a way that annoys you SYN continual my mother’s perpetual nagging3 literaryALWAYS/FOREVER permanent the perpetual snows of the mountaintops —perpetually adverb
Examples from the Corpus
perpetual• Up to five alarm calls per day can be set and there's a perpetual calendar as well.• For many working mothers, balancing the demands of children and job is a perpetual challenge.• Those who remain in the city are in perpetual danger of being hit by bullets and shells.• They help ward off the horse's instinctive perpetual fear of danger.• Walker seems to have a perpetual grin on his face.• Her husband's perpetual jealousy strongly affected their marriage.• The perpetual light of Voltai came in through his long windows.• I'm sick of her perpetual nagging.• Most senators complain that their perpetual race for money distracts them from official duties.• How can a struggling organization escape this pernicious cycle of perpetual reaction and strife?• The process is one of perpetual self-improvement.• The loyalty and heroics that Mulholland inspired in his workers were a perpetual source of wonder.• a perpetual struggle between rich and poorOrigin perpetual (1300-1400) Old French perpetuel, from Latin perpetuus, from petere “to go to” 