pervious
/ˈpɜɹ.vi.əs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.97 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Often followed by to: capable of being penetrated by another body or substance, such as air or water; admitting passage.
adj
Capable of being seen through; open to being examined; patent, unconcealed.
adj
Capable of being penetrated mentally; intelligible, understandable.
adj
Of a person, etc.: susceptible to being influenced by arguments, ideas, etc.; impressionable, tractable.
adj
Of a body structure (especially the nostril of a bird): having a hole, perforate; also, wide open.
Obsolete
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonym: porous"
- "a pervious soil"
- "If looking up to God, or dovvne to us, / Thou finde that any vvay is pervious, / Tvvixt heav'n and earth, […]"
- "[N]otvvithſtanding the exſuction of the Air, our Receiver may not be deſtitute of all Bodies, ſince any thing placed in it, may be ſeen there; vvhich vvould not be, if it vvere not pervious to thoſe Beams of Light vvhich rebounding from the ſeen Object to our eyes, affect us vvith the ſenſe of it: […]"
- "Every Country is pervious to a vviſe man; for the vvhole vvorld is the Country of a vviſe ſoul."
- "Not leſs in Number vvere the ſpacious Doors, / Than Leaves on Trees, or Sands upon the Shores; / VVhich ſtill unfolded ſtand, by Night, by Day, / Pervious to VVinds, and open ev'ry vvay."
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)
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *per-, pervius
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɜɹ.vi.əs/
- British English: /ˈpɜː.vɪ.əs/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more pervious (comparative)
most pervious (superlative)
Derived Forms
impervious
perveance
perviousity
perviously
perviousness
semipervious
semiperviousness
unpervious
unperviously
unperviousness
Frequently Paired Words
perviable