pervious

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparabletechnical

   Letting water, air or light pass through it.

   Grammar: Often followed by to: pervious to water.

   Patterns

   • pervious to something

   Sandy soil is pervious to rainwater.

   The engineers laid a pervious pavement that drains puddles quickly.

   The membrane is pervious to oxygen but not to dust.

2. 2adjectivecomparablerarefigurative

   Open to ideas, influence or persuasion.

   Grammar: Rare figurative use, usually followed by to.

   Patterns

   • pervious to something

   The committee was not pervious to complaints.

   A mind pervious to new evidence is a good thing in science.

   He was pervious to flattery.

Word forms

Common combinations

pervious to water

The rock is pervious to water.

pervious surface

A pervious surface reduces flooding.

pervious concrete

The parking lot uses pervious concrete.

pervious soil

Pervious soil drains faster than clay.

Synonyms and how they differ

permeable

Permeable is the more common word and fits both science and daily use.

porous

Porous stresses having tiny holes, while pervious just says things can pass through.

penetrable

Penetrable stresses being able to be pierced or entered, rather than passed through gradually.

Opposites

Word family

perviousness noun

the quality of letting things through

impervious adjective

not allowing things through, or unaffected by

imperviousness noun

the quality of resisting passage

perviously adverb

rare, in a pervious manner

Commonly confused: pervious or previous? pervious or pernicious?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “pervious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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