MEANING
To spread through or be present throughout a place, group, or thing.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- a smell pervades
- tension pervades a scene
On the page
A smell of damp paper pervaded the archive.
Tension pervaded the meal even when the conversation turned to harmless matters.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- pervade
- Past tense
- pervaded
- Past participle
- pervaded
- Present participle
- pervading
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- pervade
- Present continuous
- am/is/are pervading
- Present perfect
- have/has pervaded
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been pervading
- Past
- pervaded
- Past continuous
- was/were pervading
- Past perfect
- had pervaded
- Past perfect continuous
- had been pervading
- Future
- will pervade
- Future continuous
- will be pervading
- Future perfect
- will have pervaded
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been pervading
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: pervade; pervades; pervaded; pervaded; pervading Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: pervades.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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