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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
Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 16 Jan. 2025
Bangladesh’s logistics sector already dealt with plenty of distractions throughout 2024 as political unrest pervaded throughout the country.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 14 Jan. 2025
Unfashionable clubs like Brentford, Brighton, and Hove Albion have leveraged the statistical illiteracy that pervades the world's most popular game to great success.
—Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2024
Starring Macaulay Culkin as 8-year-old Kevin McAllister, the movie gave us many iconic moments and lines that continue to pervade popular culture to this day.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Pervade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pervade. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
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