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Definition of "permanent" []

  • Lasting or remaining without essential change: "the universal human yearning for something permanent, enduring, without shadow of change” ( Willa Cather). (adjective)
  • Not expected to change in status, condition, or place: a permanent address; permanent secretary to the president. (adjective)
  • Any of several long-lasting hair styles usually achieved by chemical applications which straighten, curl, or wave the hair. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "permanent" in a sentence
  • "The _true stories_ of the pioneer wives and mothers are often as interesting as any work of fiction, and need no embellishment from the imagination of a writer, because they are crowded with incidents and situations as thrilling as those which form the staple out of which novels are fabricated; love and adventure, hair-breadth escapes, heart-rending tragedies on the frontier, are thus woven into a narrative of absorbing and permanent interest, _permanent_ because it is part of the history and biography of America."
  • "The phrase 'permanent record' seems to be taking on a whole new meaning nowadays."
  • "He quickly became "interim" CEO, making the title permanent a few years later in 2000."