Link Centre Dictionary

permeate

per·meate

UK/ˈpɜːmiˌeɪt/ US/ˈpɝmiˌeɪ̯t/ uncommon

verb

1.

spread or diffuse through

  • “An atmosphere of distrust has permeated this administration”
  • “music penetrated the entire building”
  • “His campaign was riddled with accusations and personal attacks”
Synonyms
2.

pass through

  • “Water permeates sand easily”
Synonyms
3.

penetrate mutually or be interlocked

  • “The territories of two married people interpenetrate a lot”
Synonyms

Origin

First attested in 1656; borrowed from Latin permeātus, perfect passive participle of permeō (“to pass through”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix).

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.