pervasive

adjective

per·​va·​sive pər-ˈvā-siv How to pronounce pervasive (audio)
-ziv
: existing in or spreading through every part of something
a pervasive odor
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This movement has become so pervasive that spending on building up AI technologies represented 16% to 20% of the real gross domestic product growth in the third quarter of 2024 alone—and it’s expected to keep growing. Sheila Rohra, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025 Congress reauthorized it in 2022 with guardrails to curb acts of fraud, which were pervasive after EB-5 was founded in 1990. David Lyons, Sun Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2025 The nightmare of murder gets a little lost in the more pervasive nightmare of, well, adolescence. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar. 2025 Men’s health content related to topics like testosterone, vasectomies and premature ejaculation is so pervasive on social media, in fact, that a 2022 study waded through all of it to find some of the inaccuracies in the high volume of content that was already reaching men. Mara Santilli, Flow Space, 4 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pervasive

Word History

Etymology

see pervade

First Known Use

1736, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pervasive was in 1736

Cite this Entry

“Pervasive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pervasive. Accessed 16 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

pervasive

adjective
per·​va·​sive pər-ˈvā-siv How to pronounce pervasive (audio)
-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

More from Merriam-Webster on pervasive

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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