pervasive
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pervasive
First recorded in 1730–40; equivalent to Latin pervās(us), past participle of pervādere “to pass through” + -ive ( def. ); see pervade ( def. )
Explanation
When something is pervasive, it's everywhere. Common things are pervasive — like greed and cheap perfume. Ever notice how certain trends seem to spread all over the place? When something — like a hairstyle — is super-common, it's pervasive. Pervasive things can't be escaped. Playing video games is pervasive among kids. Talking about the weather is pervasive among adults. Ideas, diseases, habits, and all sorts of things can be pervasive. If you're sick of seeing something because you're seeing it again and again, it must be pervasive.
Vocabulary lists containing pervasive
List 3
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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.
There’s a pervasive sense that maybe he could have won if he’d just done a few things differently—though what those things are is up for debate.
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2026
Horror, always popular, is generally having a big moment, becoming at once more pervasive and more direct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
The pervasive threat is a constant topic of conversation in a way that crime was when I was growing up: who had been mugged, whose apartment had been robbed, whose car had been stolen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Misuse of therapy speak, or the casual use of clinical psychology terms, is a pervasive problem, and one that therapists note actually shuts down communication, as opposed to improving it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Futility, doom, became a smell in the air, pervasive and acrid as the dead smell after a forest fire—my scent and the world’s, the scent of trees, rocks, waterways wherever I went.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
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.
