Definition of PERVASIVE (original) (raw)
: existing in or spreading through every part of something
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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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Combine that with a pervasive mistrust in AI, and you’re left with the perfect storm: Consumer trust is declining across the board. —Greg Brunk, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024 Such abnormal living conditions can have pervasive effects on people’s health. —Yahya Salem, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024 That level of pervasive surveillance can have far-reaching implications, Okoh said. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 2 Nov. 2024 Maybe the coalition could infuse some of Trump’s old instincts (the nativism, the unending crusade against a pervasive enemy) with a new sense of purpose (more working-class cred, a turn toward economic populism). —Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pervasive 
Word History
First Known Use
1736, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of pervasive was in 1736
Dictionary Entries Near pervasive
Cite this Entry
“Pervasive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pervasive. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.
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Last Updated: 9 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences
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