pervasive
/pɚˈveɪ.sɪv/adjective
pervasive is spelled P-E-R-V-A-S-I-V-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pervasive means “Manifested throughout; pervading, permeating, penetrating or affecting everything” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pervasive?
| Letters | 9: P-E-R-V-A-S-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,342nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is pervasive?
Pervasive appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,342nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pervasive?
- UK /pəˈveɪ.sɪv/
- US /pɚˈveɪ.sɪv/
- Australia /pəˈvæɪ.sɪv/
Pervasive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pervasive.ogg, En-au-pervasive.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with pervasive?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as pervasive from its last stressed vowel (/eɪsɪv/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of pervasive
- more pervasive comparative
- most pervasive superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pervasive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Manifested throughout; pervading, permeating, penetrating or affecting everything.
The medication had a pervasive effect on the patient's health.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pervasive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense manifested throughout:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pénétrant, envahissant |
| German | durchdringend |
| Portuguese | pervasivo |
| Spanish | penetrante, determinante, dominante, ubicuo, pervasivo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pervasive come from?
From Latin pervāsus, from pervādō (“spread through, pervade”), from per (“through”) + vādō (“go, walk”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).