perennial
adjective
Did you know?
When you hear perennial, you probably think of peonies rather than pines. The word today typically describes (or, as a noun, refers to) plants that die back seasonally but produce new growth in the spring. But this wasn’t the word’s initial meaning: originally, perennial was equivalent to evergreen, used, as that word is, for plants that remain with us all year. We took this "throughout the year" sense straight from the Romans, whose Latin word perennis combined per- ("throughout") with a form of annus ("year"). The poet Ovid, writing around the beginning of the first millennium, used the Latin word to refer to a "perennial spring" (a water source), and the scholar Pliny used it of birds that don't migrate. Perennial retains these same uses today, for streams and occasionally for birds, but the word has long since branched out to encompass several other senses, including "constant" (as in "a perennial bestseller") and "recurring" (as in "the perennial joy of reading Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day").
Synonyms
Examples of perennial in a Sentence
Michael Kinsley, Time, 29 Oct. 2001
The issue between science and art is of perennial interest to me, since I started off in science in college, in medicine, was headed for psychiatry, and ended up writing novels …
—Walker Percy, "The State Of The Novel," 1977,
in Signposts in a Strange Land, 1991
… scientists are warning that a perennial viral threat, the upcoming flu season, could be far more dangerous than usual—more evidence that these tiny foes are responsible for a large share of human suffering.
—Claudia Wallis, Time, 3 Nov. 1986
This variety of oregano is perennial.
Flooding is a perennial problem for people living by the river.
Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
The number of teens in foster care who are pregnant or who are already mothers continues to be a perennial concern.
—Lisa Vernon Sparks, Charlotte Observer, 2 Apr. 2024
Perez, the club’s veteran cornerstone and perennial All-Star, registered three hits and four RBIs.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 31 Mar. 2024
Space black is a favorite Apple shade, and may well be the perennial bestseller.
—David Phelan, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Garden loves the league’s partnership with Nike, in part because of how well the company markets players, but MLB needs to solve its perennial struggles in marketing players on its own.
—Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
But even as their numbers rose, Americans remained underrepresented, leading to perennial soul-searching and some xenophobia.
—Javier C. Hernández, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024
Housing is the perennial white whale, given how many buyers are bereft at the dearth of affordable options.
—Jane Thier, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2024
This perennial forms low mounds of pretty foliage, which is evergreen in places with mild winters.
—Halee Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perennial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
circa 1660, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Articles Related to perennial
Podcast
Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!
Dictionary Entries Near perennial
Cite this Entry
“Perennial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perennial. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
perennial
1 of 2 adjectiveperennial
2 of 2 noun
Medical Definition
perennial
adjective
More from Merriam-Webster on perennial
Nglish: Translation of perennial for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of perennial for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about perennial
Share