pervade

/pɜː(ɹ)ˈveɪd/

//pɜː(ɹ)ˈveɪd// verb

"pervade" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pervade” is an uncommon English word, ranked #78,011 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#78,011
frequency rank, English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To be in every part of; to spread through; to permeate.

Key facts for pervade
PropertyValue
Headwordpervade
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɜː(ɹ)ˈveɪd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#78,011
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pervade” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). pervade lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for pervade is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɜː(ɹ)ˈveɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #78,011 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To be in every part of; to spread through; to permeate.".

Zero misspellings are on record for pervade in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin pervādō. The correct English form is pervade, spelled P-E-R-V-A-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To be in every part of; to spread through; to permeate.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin pervādō.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "pervade"?
"pervade" is spelled P-E-R-V-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pɜː(ɹ)ˈveɪd/.
What does "pervade" mean?
As a verb, "pervade" means: To be in every part of; to spread through; to permeate.
How do you pronounce "pervade"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pervade" is /pɜː(ɹ)ˈveɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "pervade"?
Learned borrowing from Latin pervādō. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “pervade”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-E-R-V-A-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pɜː(ɹ)ˈveɪd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list