What does perennial mean?
Word: Perennial
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Perennial means lasting for a very long time, or happening again and again. A perennial plant lives for more than two years.
Synonyms: lasting, enduring, recurring
Antonyms: short-lived
Word origin: From Latin perennis, 'continuing without a break', taken into English around the 1600s.
How do you spell perennial?
Syllables: pe - ren - ni - al
Tricky part: The double n comes straight after the stressed syllable, and only one r comes before it, so students write perrenial or perenial.
Watch out for: perrenial, perenial, perennual
Memory tip: A perennial plant keeps coming back, so give its n a partner too: one n is never enough for something that keeps returning.
Perennial in a sentence
Example 1: Marigolds are sown every year, but the hibiscus in Nani's garden is a perennial that flowers season after season.
Example 2: Traffic jams near the school gate are a perennial complaint at parents' meetings.
Example 3: Cricket is a perennial favourite in our colony; even the grandparents join in on Sundays.
Fun Fact
Geographers call a river perennial when it flows all year; the snow-fed Himalayan rivers are perennial, while many smaller rivers of the Deccan shrink to a trickle in the dry months.
Practise the CREST Way
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Which of these words shares a Latin root with perennial?
a) arena
b) annual
c) annex
d) peril
Show answer
b) annual. Both go back to Latin annus, a year: an annual event comes round every year, and a perennial plant lives on for years.
Spellacadabra
Which word takes the same letter in both blanks?
a) c_l_ndar
b) r_g_lar
c) p_r_nnial
d) s_p_rate
Show answer
c) p_r_nnial. Perennial is completed by e twice; calendar needs a and e, separate e and a, and regular e and u.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
123456789 inlepraen
a) 371928645
b) 546829173
c) 645829137
d) 546289173
Show answer
b) 546829173. Taking the letters in places 5, 4, 6, 8, 2, 9, 1, 7 and 3 spells p, e, r, e, n, n, i, a, l.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with perennial?
a) menial
b) centennial
c) millennial
d) biennial
Show answer
a) menial. Menial opens with a long ee, as in mean; centennial, millennial and biennial share the short 'en' that perennial has.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which problem could fairly be called perennial for many Indian cities?
a) the opening of a new flyover
b) waterlogged roads every monsoon
c) a single power cut last Tuesday
d) a one-day festival in the main square
Show answer
b) waterlogged roads every monsoon
2. A gardener who plants perennials ___.
a) does not need to sow them again each spring
b) can grow them only inside a glasshouse
c) must keep them in deep shade all day
d) will see them flower only once and then die
Show answer
a) does not need to sow them again each spring
