pervade
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
pervadernoun
-
pervadingnessnoun
-
pervasionnoun
-
interpervadeverb (used with object)
-
pervasiveadjective
-
unpervadedadjective
-
unpervadingadjective
-
pervadinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pervadesimple
-
pervadessimple
-
have pervadedperfect
-
has pervadedperfect
-
am pervadingprogressive
-
are pervadingprogressive
-
is pervadingprogressive
-
have been pervadingperfect progressive
-
has been pervadingperfect progressive
Past
-
pervadedsimple
-
had pervadedperfect
-
was pervadingprogressive
-
were pervadingprogressive
-
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Grade 10, List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Giver
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, the concepts of individualism and self-sufficiency began to pervade U.S. culture and politics.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2025
“And I just don’t think it will be controlled. I think it will pervade the culture.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
Speaking to the BBC on a break from work, she says images of bodies in Maui pervade her social media feeds.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 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
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
“In the culture of fear that pervades the PLA, these new appointees may not give Xi the frank advice he needs,” Wuthnow said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
The smell of fresh leather goods pervades the air.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
She sat on the patchy grass and grasped at the sense of melancholy that pervades the Fighting Oligarchy tour.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2025
Though he settled in France, the quality that most pervades Chopin’s style is homesickness for his native Poland.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Gold and silver futures settled lower for the third consecutive day as a risk-off sentiment pervaded markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
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
Gallows humour pervaded in the stands prior to United's final Premier League game of a dismal 2024-25 campaign against Aston Villa - especially when talk turned to their prospects for next year.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2025
But in some quarters, a certain sense of detachment pervaded over this faraway political earthquake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024
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
But the office’s pervading atmosphere of hard work and quiet focus felt uncannily similar to its big-screen analog.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
The 17th-century painter’s depiction of the biblical figure, who has left behind her life of sin, is a work of entrancing details and pervading stillness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 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
Then she opened it and entered, entered a pervading reek of camphor.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
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.
