adj · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈpɜː.vɪ.əs/
General-American:/ˈpɜɹ.vi.əs/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)viəs
1
adj
Meaning 1
Often followed by to: capable of being penetrated by another body or substance, such as air or water; admitting passage.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
adjective
Meaning 7
admitting of passage or entrance
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
pervious soil
a metal pervious to heat
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: impervious
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin pervius (“having a passage through; passable, penetrable, traversable”) + English -ous (suffix denoting the presence of a quality in any degree (typically an abundance)). Pervius is derived from per- (prefix denoting doing something all the way through or entirely) + via (“road, street; method, way; (figurative) course, route”) + -us (suffix forming adjectives)