pervasive

adjective

per·​va·​sive pər-ˈvā-siv 

-ziv

: existing in or spreading through every part of something

a pervasive odor

pervasively adverb

pervasiveness noun

Did you know?

Is pervasive always negative?

Pervasive is most often used of things we don't really want spreading throughout all parts of something:

a pervasive problem

a stench that is pervasive

pervasive corruption

But pervasive can occasionally also be found in neutral and even positive contexts:

a pervasive rhythm

a pervasive sense of calm

The meaning isn't neutral when the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) uses it. Beginning in the early 1990s, the MPAA started giving the R rating to movies with "pervasive language." Most movies have language throughout, of course. The MPAA is using the phrase "pervasive language" to refer to the frequent use of a particular kind of language: profanity.

Examples of pervasive in a Sentence

A resuscitated orthodoxy, so pervasive as to be nearly invisible, rules the land. —Mark Slouka, Harper's, November 2004

The manic money-grab excitement of the Nineties had never been altogether free of our pervasive American guilt. —Norman Mailer, New York Review of Books, 27 Mar. 2002

Race was never articulated as an issue at the trial, even though its presence was pervasive. —Howard Chua-Eoan, Time, 6 Mar. 2000

the pervasive nature of the problem

television's pervasive influence on our culture

Recent Examples on the Web

The second Trump administration seems different, with more rapid and pervasive removal of information. —Alejandro Paz, The Conversation, 14 Feb. 2025

Learn more By Emily Steel and Sydney Ember Emily Steel and Sydney Ember produced an investigation in 2023 on aviation safety that documented an alarming and pervasive pattern of airline close calls around the United States. —Emily Steel, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025

Antisemitism has become so pervasive that nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of American Jews feel less secure than a year ago. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Feb. 2025

As the crew collaborates with locals to fabricate a trend, unexpected connections blossom while a pervasive health crisis looms unacknowledged in the background. —Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see pervade

First Known Use

1736, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pervasive

• all-pervasive
• pervasive developmental disorder

Kids Definition

pervasive

adjective

per·​va·​sive pər-ˈvā-siv 

-ziv

: spread throughout so thoroughly as to be seen or felt everywhere

the pervasive influence of television

the pervasive dampness of the mines

pervasively adverb

pervasiveness noun