pervasive

adjective

per·​va·​sive pər-ˈvā-siv 

-ziv

: existing in or spreading through every part of something

a pervasive odor

social media's pervasive influence on our culture

This is one of the most persistent and pervasive problems in the music business.

—Shaun Harper

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 swearing is certainly not pervasive, though, and only occurs here and there; there are large stretches of the film that are totally clean language-wise. —Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026

Mavromatis, who was hired in 2022 as its head of Instagram, described a pervasive climate of discrimination and harassment, according to the lawsuit. —Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026

The junk food is so pervasive that its consumption made up almost 20 percent of the time that the monkeys spent eating. —Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 22 Apr. 2026

Perhaps the more plausible explanation is that, with man-to-man marking becoming so pervasive in England’s top flight, the players are unaccustomed to breaking down a zonal block. —Jon MacKenzie, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see pervade

First Known Use

1736, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pervasive

• all-pervasive
• pervasive developmental disorder

Rhymes for pervasive

• abrasive
• invasive
• persuasive
• noninvasive
• unpersuasive

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