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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
Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
The feeling of pieces that have been worn for years, a manifestation of the secondhand market boom, also pervaded the predictions.
—James Manso, Footwear News, 11 Feb. 2026
Though Abuja claims to be ramping up its campaign against radical militias, hundreds of people have been killed or kidnapped so far this year, underscoring the lawlessness that pervades swaths of the country.
—semafor.com, 6 Feb. 2026
But the art of Violette and his cohort tapped into a deeper disillusionment, the kind of corrosive cynicism that pervades a culture in which any sense of possibility for a non-horrifying future has been foreclosed.
—Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Feb. 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 19 Feb. 2026.
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