Meaning & use
Infiltrate
Last updated
To enter an organization, place, or group secretly or gradually, often to gain information or influence from within.
See it in a sentence
The undercover agent managed to infiltrate the smuggling ring.
Rainwater can infiltrate the soil and reach the underground aquifer.
A note on using this word
Originally a scientific term for liquid seeping through a substance, infiltrate later gained its common espionage sense of secretly entering a group.
Words with a similar meaning
penetrateinfusesneak into
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Another way to use it
2. verb
To pass a liquid or gas gradually into or through a substance.
Water infiltrated the cracked foundation during the storm.
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