Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

infiltrate

/ˈɪnfəltɹeɪt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.25 in modern English

Syllables: in-fil-trate
IPA: /ˈɪnfəltɹeɪt/

13

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To surreptitiously penetrate, enter or gain access to.

verb

To cause to penetrate in this way.

Transitive verb

verb

To pass through something by filtration.

verb

To cause (a liquid) to pass through something by filtration.

Transitive verb

verb

To invade or penetrate a tissue or organ.

verb

To send (soldiers, spies, etc.) through gaps in the enemy line.

Transitive verb

verb

To move from a vein, remaining in the body.

Intransitive verb

noun

Any undesirable substance or group of cells that has made its way into part of the body.

Example Sentences

"The spy infiltrated the high-tech company and stole many secrets."
"Caithness was infiltrated with a palpable sense of being underimagined."
"The agency infiltrated several spies into the company."
"High-grade tumors often infiltrate surrounding structures."
"In certain conditions, immune cells may infiltrate into the cerebrospinal fluid."
"Plesner et al. reported the nonbeta islet endocrine cell remodeling in diabetic NOD mice: that study suggested that infiltrating immune cells may restrict alpha-cell expansion in NOD mouse islet in the diabetic state [ 36 ]."

Etymology

From Middle English infiltrate (adjective), from Medieval Latin infiltrātus, from infiltrō.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: infiltrate, infiltrātus

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɪnfəltɹeɪt/
British English: /ˈɪnfɪltɹeɪt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

infiltrates (present, singular) infiltrating (participle, present) infiltrated (participle, past) infiltrated (past) infiltrates (plural)

Derived Forms

agroinfiltrate agroinfiltrated coinfiltrate infiltratable infiltration infiltrative infiltrator infiltratrix noninfiltrated noninfiltrating reinfiltrate uninfiltrated

Synonyms

pass through penetrate

Antonyms

exfiltrate

Questions

How do you pronounce infiltrate?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɪnfəltɹeɪt/.
What does infiltrate mean?: To surreptitiously penetrate, enter or gain access to.
Where does infiltrate come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce infiltrate

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “infiltrate”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɪnfəltɹeɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “infiltrate”.
Repeat and practice — Say “infiltrate” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.