pervasive

[per-vey-siv]

adjective

1. spread throughout.

   The corruption is so pervasive that it is accepted as the way to do business.

pervasive

/ pɜːˈveɪsɪv /

adjective

1. pervading or tending to pervade

Other Word Forms

• pervasively adverb
• pervasiveness noun
• interpervasive adjective
• interpervasively adverb
• nonpervasive adjective
• nonpervasively adverb
• unpervasive adjective
• unpervasively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of pervasive¹

First recorded in 1730–40; equivalent to Latin pervās(us), past participle of pervādere “to pass through” + -ive ( def. ); pervade ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of pervasive¹

C18: from Latin pervāsus, past participle of pervādere to _pervade

Example Sentences

Above all, we experience a pervasive miasma of helplessness as we are forced to watch this intolerable train wreck.

From Salon

“These initiatives really negate and mitigate the very pervasive idea of seeing immigrants as permanent foreigners in this country only because of their color or language,” Syed said.

From Los Angeles Times

"No other population is under such restrictions in today's world," it concluded, adding that surveillance had become "more pervasive", helped in part by advances in technology.

From BBC

The series endures because it’s a “comic masterpiece,” Simon said, but also because it “deals with a pervasive societal problem in America: loneliness.”

From Los Angeles Times

Torres uses blue and red to exemplify his anti-capitalist stance by endearingly explaining how those with extreme wealth maneuver tax evasion, how governments allow and excuse war crimes, and how pervasive individualism prevents progress.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• common 
• inescapable 
• omnipresent 
• prevalent 
• rife 
• ubiquitous 
• universal