PERVASIVE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pervasive mean? 

• PERVASIVE (adjective)
  The adjective PERVASIVE has 1 sense:

1. spreading or spread throughout

  Familiarity information: PERVASIVE used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PERVASIVE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Spreading or spread throughout

Synonyms:

permeant; permeating; permeative; pervasive

Context example:

an error is pervasive if it is material to more than one conclusion

Similar:

distributive (serving to distribute or allot or disperse)

Derivation:

pervade (spread or diffuse through)

pervasiveness (the quality of filling or spreading throughout)

 Context examples 

Some tumors elicit a desmoplastic reaction, the pervasive growth of dense fibrous tissue around the tumor.

(Desmoplastic, NCI Thesaurus)

The point is, the career tension that was so pervasive for two years is about to drop.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

A disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others that is manifested in childhood or early adolescence.

(Antisocial Personality Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

Light pollution is one of the most pervasive forms of environmental alteration.

(Milky Way now hidden from a third of humanity, NOAA)

Among the most pervasive is pollution by nutrients, usually nitrogen or phosphorus from fertilizers.

(Ancient lakes: eyes into the past, and the future, National Science Foundation)

A diverse category of psychiatric disorders characterized by behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture; this pattern of deviation is pervasive and inflexible and is stable over time.

(Personality Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by an enduring pattern of behavior based on the pervasive belief that the motives of others are malevolent and that they should not be trusted.

(Paranoid Personality Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

An autoimmune process may produce or be caused by autoimmune disease and may be developmentally complex, not necessarily pathological, and possibly pervasive.

(Autoimmune Process, NCI Thesaurus)