MEANING
1. To pass through a material or enter and spread throughout it.
2. To spread through or influence all parts of a group, work, or other nonmaterial whole.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- water permeates soil
- permeate a membrane
On the page
Water permeated the damaged lining during the night.
The dye permeated the fibers before the cloth was removed.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- permeate
- Past tense
- permeated
- Past participle
- permeated
- Present participle
- permeating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- permeate
- Present continuous
- am/is/are permeating
- Present perfect
- have/has permeated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been permeating
- Past
- permeated
- Past continuous
- was/were permeating
- Past perfect
- had permeated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been permeating
- Future
- will permeate
- Future continuous
- will be permeating
- Future perfect
- will have permeated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been permeating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: permeate; permeates; permeated; permeated; permeating Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: permeates.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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