perennial

Noun · Adjective
US[per-en-ee-uhl]/pɚˈɛniəl/4 syllables

Open English WordNet

Adjective (3)

  1. lasting three seasons or more“the common buttercup is a popular perennial plant”Opposite annual, biennial
  2. lasting an indefinitely long time; suggesting self-renewal“perennial happiness”Opposite shortSimilar long
  3. recurring again and again“perennial efforts to stipulate the requirements”Synonyms: recurrentrepeatedOpposite sporadicSimilar continual

Noun (1)

  1. (botany) a plant lasting for three seasons or moreType of plant, floraKinds rattlesnake master, rattlesnake's master
Word of the day · Sep 30About this word

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Per·en′ni·al (pĕr-ĕn′nĭ-al), adjective

Origin: L. perennis that lasts the whole year through; per through + annus year. See Per-, and Annual.

1. Lasting or continuing through the year; as, perennial fountains.

2. Continuing without cessation or intermission; perpetual; unceasing; never failing.

The perennial existence of bodies corporate.— Edmund Burke

3. Botany Continuing more than two years; as, a perennial steam, or root, or plant.

Synonyms: Perpetual; unceasing; never failing; enduring; continual; permanent; uninterrupted.


Per·en′ni·al noun

Botany A perennial plant; a plant which lives or continues more than two years, whether it retains its leaves in winter or not.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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