pervasive
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- interpervasive adjective
- interpervasively adverb
- nonpervasive adjective
- nonpervasively adverb
- pervasively adverb
- pervasiveness noun
- unpervasive adjective
- unpervasively adverb
Etymology
Origin of pervasive
First recorded in 1730–40; equivalent to Latin pervās(us), past participle of pervādere “to pass through” + -ive ( def. ); pervade ( def. )
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.
The film explores fear — a sentiment Lapid believes is pervasive today.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Mitu Gulati explains how the pervasive use of boilerplate contracts is creating a legal crisis.
From Slate • Mar. 17, 2026
Hanson, who spends much of his life crawling through underbrush to count trees, plunged ahead into stands of chest-high ceanothus, pointing out sequoias camouflaged in the pervasive post-fire brush.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
Toxicity is pervasive; draining and self-defeating, but almost unavoidable.
From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026
The walls, the paneling, the pervasive heaviness of nearly new fixtures, the colossal firedogs, the walk-in fireplaces of bright new stone referred back through the centuries to a time of lonely castles in mute forests.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
