Synonyms

permeate

American

[pur-mee-eyt] / ˈpɜr miˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

to pass into or through every part of.

Bright sunshine permeated the room.
to penetrate through the pores, interstices, etc., of.
to be diffused through; pervade; saturate.

Cynicism permeated his report.

verb (used without object)

to become diffused; penetrate.

permeate British

/ ˈpɜːmɪˌeɪt /

verb

to penetrate or pervade (a substance, area, etc)

a lovely smell permeated the room
to pass through or cause to pass through by osmosis or diffusion

to permeate a membrane

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does permeate mean? Permeate means to penetrate, pass through, and often become widespread throughout something. Similar words are pervade and saturate. Permeate can be used both in the context of the physical spread of something within a space and in more figurative ways. Dye permeates fabric. A smell can permeate a room. An idea can permeate someone’s mind. The adjective permeable means capable of being permeated, especially by liquids or gases, as in Permeable surfaces should be sealed to prevent leaks. The adjective permeating describes things that have permeated or have the ability to permeate, as in Social media has become a permeating aspect of our lives. Example: This material has a special coating that won’t allow anything to permeate its surface.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of permeate

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin permeātus, past participle of permeāre “to pass through”; see origin at per-, meatus

Explanation

When you live in a big city like New York, you know all too well how the smells of spices and cooking meats can permeate a hallway, easily passing through those thin apartment doors to make your mouth water. The verb permeate literally means to "pass through." It's often used to describe smells or liquids that not only pass through, but also spread to fill an entire area. When you bake cookies, you'll notice that the rich, sweet smell of those cookies isn't confined just to your oven — it permeates the entire kitchen and even the whole house. In science class, you might have learned about a permeable membrane — a thin material that is porous enough to let liquids or gases to pass through.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

permeate permeates permeated permeating

But you can’t permeate the culture if viewers refuse to watch the second episode.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

I think this shift shows, first of all, how much culture really does permeate the Supreme Court.

From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026

"And in other ways, sometimes something can permeate that you really didn't expect."

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

Care, respect and precision permeate many aspects of Japan’s culture, and this book is delightfully rife with examples.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

What makes an insecticide a systemic is the ability to permeate all the tissues of a plant or animal and make them toxic.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

A fittingly Gothic flavor permeates these tales, which feature hauntings, hatreds and furtive passions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

The maturity of the crowd permeates everything onboard, down to the smell, said another.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Even as culture permeates up from the internet, being around the corner is important.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

These tableaus take place against the backdrop of an increasingly militarized vision of Christmas that permeates American pop culture.

From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025

There is such loss in his eyes, and it permeates every other part of his body.

From "Every Day" by David Levithan

"Social media has now permeated to the smallest towns in India, and has near ubiquity among young Indians," he told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

A big whiff of inflation also permeated the S&P report.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

Eve’s prominent role in advertising demonstrates how the Judeo-Christian tradition permeated American culture, including the fashion industry.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

“De Gaulle’s thinking, by contrast, was permeated by a sense of the inevitable and by a melancholy, sometimes apocalyptic, belief that all human enterprises will fail sooner or later.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

Within seconds, a foul stench thickened and permeated the cave.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

This kind of oversight won’t seem unreasonable to most Americans, especially given the eye-watering levels of fraud that are permeating these programs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Apple’s reach is permeating into the rest of the AI supply chain.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

The Fourth Amendment exists, she writes, to protect “the privacies of life” and to guard against “too permeating police surveillance.”

From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026

Taylor Clemons’ cinematography is excellent, all slow creeping shots and shadows permeating even the daytime scenes.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

My gorge rose at the reek of rotten meat permeating the air.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023