permeate

/ˈpɜːmiˌeɪt/US/ˈpɝmiˌeɪ̯t/

permeate verb: to pass through the pores or interstices of; to penetrate and pass through without causing rupture or displacement; applied especially to fluids which pass through substances of loose texture.

Verb

permeate (third-person singular simple present permeates, present participle permeating, simple past and past participle permeated)

(transitive) To pass through the pores or interstices of; to penetrate and pass through without causing rupture or displacement; applied especially to fluids which pass through substances of loose texture
- water permeates sand
(transitive) To enter and spread through; to pervade.
- Bright sunshine permeates the room on a sunny day.
- ...it is clear that this Being itself, is what supports and surpasses, includes and permeates all other things.1854, Saint Anselm, translated by Sidney Norton Deane, Proslogium and Monologium/Monologium/Chapter 14
Synonyms:

impregnate, perfuse

Noun

permeate

A watery by-product of milk production.
Liquid that has passed through a filtration system.

permeate meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada

permeate in Tamil

உட்புகுதல், ஊடுபரவுதல்

permeate in Urdu

سرائیت کرنا

permeate in Malayalam

കിനിയുക, പ്രവേശിക്കുക, വ്യാപിപ്പിക്കുക, സാന്ദ്രമാക്കുക

permeate in Kannada

ಒಳಮುಟ್ಟು, ಹೀರಿಕೊಳ್ಳು, ಹರಡು, ಒಳವ್ಯಾಪಿಸು, ಒಳಹೊಕ್ಕು ಹರಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳು, ಛೇದಿಸು

More languagesFewer languages

permeate in Punjabi: ਸਮਾਉਣਾ samāuṇā
permeate in Indonesian: tembus

Examples of permeate in a sentence

The uninvited guests enveloped and permeated them, and upon the night air rose joyous cries, congratulations, laughter and unclassified noises born of McGary's oblations to the hymeneal scene.1906 April, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “From the Cabby’s Seat”, in The Four Million, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips &...
The old smell of dead whale permeates everything.1922 January 4, William Shackleton, Shackleton's diaries:
Also, much depended on an exceptional esprit de corps which permeated the whole staff, and achieved miracles of promptitude in such details as engine-changing and the marshalling of trains.1946 May and June, J. Alan Rannie, “The Midland of 35 Years Ago”, in Railway Magazine, page 135:
The do-or-die mentality gambaru permeates Japanese society, where the pursuit of a goal can carry more significance than the outcome.2020 August 24, Kaori Enjoji, “‘Do or die’ mentality brings Japanese PM Shinzo Abe to the brink”, in CNN, archived from the original on 23...

All 38 example sentences with permeate

Synonyms of permeate

Forms of permeate

third-person singular present	permeates
present participle	permeating
past participle	permeated
past	permeated

Past tense of permeate: permeated

Origin of permeate

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).

Words formed from permeate

Questions about permeate

What does permeate mean?: Permeate means to pass through the pores or interstices of; to penetrate and pass through without causing rupture or displacement; applied especially to fluids which pass through substances of loose texture.
What is permeate in Tamil?: Permeate in Tamil is உட்புகுதல், ஊடுபரவுதல். See Permeate meaning in Tamil.
How do you use permeate in a sentence?: The uninvited guests enveloped and permeated them, and upon the night air rose joyous cries, congratulations, laughter and unclassified noises born of McGary's oblations to the hymeneal scene.
What part of speech is permeate?: Permeate can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce permeate?: Permeate is pronounced /ˈpɜːmiˌeɪt/ (UK).
What is the past tense of permeate?: The past tense of permeate is permeated.

Words near permeate in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: permeate (page history and authors); permeate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); permeate (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); permeate (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); permeate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਸਮਾਉਣਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-permeate.wav.

Cite this entry: “permeate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/permeate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.