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English speakers borrowed pervade in the mid-17th century from Latin pervadere, meaning "to go through." Pervadere, in turn, was formed by combining the prefix per-, meaning "through," with the verb vadere, meaning "to go." Synonyms of pervade include permeate, impregnate, and saturate. Pervade stresses a spreading diffusion throughout every part of a whole ("art and music pervade every aspect of their lives"). Permeate implies diffusion specifically throughout a material thing ("the smell of freshly baked bread permeated the house"). Impregnate suggests a forceful influence or effect on something throughout ("impregnate the cotton with alcohol"). Saturate is used when nothing more may be taken up or absorbed ("the cloth is saturated with water").
Synonyms
Examples of pervade in a Sentence
Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2024
The concurrent exhibitions will honor the enduring Spanish influences that pervade The Palm Beaches, especially in Boca Raton, where the city's Spanish Colonial Revival aesthetic upholds the legacy of architect Addison Mizner.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
The cosmic web is the large-scale structure of the universe, a network of matter that pervades all the space between galaxies, Oei said.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 25 Sep. 2024
To my ear, the tone always presumes in the listener the presence of an equal and thus forbids the aura of cultic idealization that pervades Lebold’s book.
—Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Pervade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pervade. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
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