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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").
Examples of pervade in a Sentence
Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
That concept caused many white people’s lives to be pervaded by both actual violence and the fear of it.
—Eve Fairbanks, The Dial, 27 Jan. 2026
Some 35 times more energetic than any neutrino seen before, the particle might have shot out from a highly active galaxy — a blazar — or a background source of cosmogenic high-energy particles that scientists suspect pervade the cosmos.
—Quanta Magazine, 23 Jan. 2026
Gold accents and teal velvet upholstery pervade the restaurant, giving the space a cozy, quiet elegance.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pervade
Cite this Entry
“Pervade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pervade. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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