permanent

/ˈpʌrm(ə)nənt/

/ˈpʌmənənt/

Other forms: permanents

Something that’s permanent is constant and lasting, as opposed to temporary. Think twice about writing in permanent marker or getting a tattoo — both are just about impossible to erase.

If you wait around for something permanent to change, you'll be there for a long time — maybe forever. That's because the adjective permanent is used to describe something that continues on into the foreseeable future without shifting, moving, or changing at all. You might also come across the noun permanent, which refers to a chemical treatment used to curl your hair. But please know that "perms" aren't really cool anymore.

Definitions of permanent

1. adjective

   continuing or enduring without marked change in status or condition or place
   “permanent secretary to the president”

   “permanent address”

   “literature of permanent value”

   synonyms: lasting

   unchangeable

   not changeable or subject to change

   ineradicable

   not able to be destroyed or rooted out

   abiding, enduring, imperishable

   unceasing

   aeonian, ageless, eonian, eternal, everlasting, perpetual, unceasing, unending

   continuing forever or indefinitely

   indissoluble

   used of decisions and contracts

   standing

   not created for a particular occasion

   stable

   resistant to change of position or condition

   antonyms:

   impermanent

   not permanent; not lasting

   acting

   serving temporarily especially as a substitute

   ephemeral, fugacious, passing, short-lived, transient, transitory

   lasting a very short time

   episodic

   limited in duration to a single episode

   evanescent

   tending to vanish like vapor

   fly-by-night

   ephemeral

   improvised, jury-rigged, makeshift

   done or made using whatever is available

   interim

   serving during an intermediate interval of time

   pro tem, pro tempore

   for the time being

   shipboard

   casual or ephemeral as if taking place on board a ship

   temporal

   not eternal

   terminable

   capable of being terminated after a designated time

   working

   adopted as a temporary basis for further work

   unstable

   lacking stability or fixity or firmness
2. adjective

   not capable of being reversed or returned to the original condition
   “permanent brain damage”

   synonyms:

   irreversible

   incapable of being reversed
3. noun

   a series of waves in the hair made by applying heat and chemicals
   synonyms: perm, permanent wave

   type of:

   wave

   a hairdo that creates undulations in the hair