What does pervasive mean?
Word: Pervasive
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: present and felt in every part of a place or thing.
How do you spell pervasive?
Syllables: per - va - sive
Tricky part: Massive and passive have a double s, so pupils add a second s here too. This word has only one.
Watch out for: pervassive, pervasiv, pervaseve
Memory tip: Massive and passive take two; this word goes through on its own, with a single s.
Pervasive in a sentence
Example 1: The hum of the generator was pervasive throughout the old hostel.
Example 2: There was a pervasive feeling of calm in the library during exam week.
Example 3: Bright posters made the school's Sports Day theme pervasive on every floor.
Fun Fact
It goes back to a Latin verb meaning to go through. Anything pervasive has, in a sense, walked through every room.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three of these words are misspelt. Choose the meaning of the one spelt correctly.
1. pervasive 2. vigilent 3. exhuberant 4. tenacous
a) full of joy and energy
b) watching carefully for any trouble
c) refusing to give up or let go
d) reaching every corner of a place or group
Show answer
d) reaching every corner of a place or group. Look again at tenacious, vigilant and exuberant: each is printed with a slip.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word pervasive as used in the sentence:
The pervasive use of mobile phones has changed how families talk at dinner.
a) faint
b) pleasant
c) sudden
d) widespread
Show answer
d) widespread. The sentence means phones are found almost everywhere.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
A ersaevivp scent of wet earth filled the village after the first rain.
a) pervasive
b) permissive
c) persuasive
d) perceptive
Show answer
a) pervasive. Two v's and an a settle it; each of the other choices has letters missing from the jumble.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
p_r_asive
a) e, b
b) e, v
c) u, v
d) a, v
Show answer
b) e, v. The opening matches perfect, and the next consonant is the v of very.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What is a fair example of something pervasive in a school?
a) a single broken desk in Room 3
b) a visitor who came on Tuesday
c) a love of cricket in every class
d) one poster on the library door
Show answer
c) a love of cricket in every class
2. A report calls plastic waste pervasive in a river. What should divers expect?
a) to see it along the whole river
b) to meet it only near one bridge
c) to notice it only after heavy rain
d) to find it in one small bend
Show answer
a) to see it along the whole river
