pervade
Americanverb (used with object)
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pervades,
present (3rd person singular)
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pervaded,
past participle, past
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pervading
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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pervadernoun
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pervadingnessnoun
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pervasionnoun
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interpervadeverb (used with object)
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pervasiveadjective
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unpervadedadjective
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unpervadingadjective
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pervadinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pervadesimple
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pervadessimple
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have pervadedperfect
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has pervadedperfect
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am pervadingprogressive
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are pervadingprogressive
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is pervadingprogressive
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have been pervadingperfect progressive
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has been pervadingperfect progressive
Past
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pervadedsimple
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had pervadedperfect
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was pervadingprogressive
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were pervadingprogressive
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had been pervadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pervade
1645–55; < Latin pervādere to pass through, equivalent to per- per- + vādere to go, walk
Explanation
To pervade means to be present throughout, to exist in every part of. If you have too many cats, the horrible smell of cat pee will pervade your house. You can use pervade both for external things like smells and sickness, and for more internal things like feelings. For instance, you can say that a feeling of doom pervaded the army as they caught sight of the opposition’s superior forces. Despite efforts to prevent bullying, peer pressure and clique mentalities pervade the school environment.
Vocabulary lists containing pervade
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Grade 10, List 1
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The Giver
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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:
Bell Labs, the legendary research-and-development organization, created foundational innovations like transistors that pervade the modern world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
As 10-minute online deliveries by "quick commerce" apps like Zomato, BlinkIt and Zepto pervade urban India, hundreds of thousands of neighbourhood stores across cities have closed down.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2025
Guinea grass, molasses grass and buffelgrass, nonnative plants brought in for cattle grazing, now pervade the pasturelands and the former plantation fields — and were among the 18 invasive species identified by the U.S.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2023
Latin American experiences of otherness and progress pervade the new writing, particularly the label of “developing country,” rendered meaningless in distant futures or by alien invasions.
From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2023
Those of us in the civil rights community are not immune to the racial stereotypes that pervade media imagery and political rhetoric; nor do we operate outside of the political context.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Months after it was announced that the surge of immigration agents in Minnesota was coming to an end, fear still pervades parts of the US state.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
Hegel was a metaphysician whose insistence that Geist, or spirit, pervades the historical process and moves it to some grand culmination is difficult to distinguish from New Age mysticism, and hence charlatanism.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026
Dry humor also pervades a novel that is enriched throughout by the laconic speech of the region.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026
She sat on the patchy grass and grasped at the sense of melancholy that pervades the Fighting Oligarchy tour.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2025
Silence pervades everything until the Doorman yawns and licks his lips.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Already in Algiers ahead of the historic visit, the atmosphere of an imminent celebration pervaded the air, with walls repainted, roads repaved and green spaces adorned with plants and flowerpots.
From Barron's ● Apr. 13, 2026
A similar style pervaded the June 14 “No Kings” nationwide protests.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
Despite the corruption that pervaded his administration, Chávez presided over resource redistribution and significant reductions in poverty levels.
From Slate ● Jan. 15, 2026
Deep fear has long pervaded the arid savannah plains and highlands of north-western Nigeria - even before the US air strikes on the Islamist militants who have made this area their base on Christmas night.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
Periodicals devoted to the subject appeared, and references to its doctrines pervaded popular literature.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
You also have such a huge platform and a way to be able to talk to people about issues that are pervading their lives and make them feel better about them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
In retrospect, its uncompromising litmus tests and chilly demeanor were real weaknesses, creating a pervading fear that any false step could expel one from good graces, and that a return trip was always, always treacherous.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2026
Like “Bridgerton,” our “Heated Rivalry” obsession is related to a hollow longing for connection pervading society right now.
From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2026
By shifting the goal post, there will be a greater focus on policy implementation, driving up consumer spending, and stemming the deflationary forces that have been pervading the economy, Green says.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
And at the same time, keeping pace with these longings, our distaste for the city grew and grew and became a sweeping, pervading hatred.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
