Definition of PERVASIVE (original) (raw)
: existing in or spreading through every part of something
Did you know?
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.
One of the members, Christian Dominguez, told me that the survivors at the reunion felt a pervasive anguish. —Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025 The lack of emergency funds reflects the increasingly pervasive reality of financial instability in Florida’s working families. —Bahíyyah Maroon, Orlando Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2025 Moviegoers in Mexico likewise weren’t impressed, taking issue with the film’s jumble of Spanish accents, its simplistic treatment of drug violence in the country and what some described as pervasive inauthenticity. —Jake Coyle, Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2025 Positive performance in this sector often signals broader economic stability, given the tech industry’s pervasive influence. —Quartz Intelligence Newsroom, Quartz, 31 Jan. 2025 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 12 Feb. 2025.
Share
More from Merriam-Webster on pervasive
Last Updated: 7 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences
Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!