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infiltrate

verb

Simple meaning

Pass into or through by filtering or permeating.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ihnfiltrayt

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɪnˈfɪltɹeɪt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. ambitransitive

    To surreptitiously penetrate, enter or gain access to.

  2. ambitransitiveof a liquid

    Pass into or through by filtering or permeating

  3. ambitransitiveof a liquid

    To pass through something by filtration.

  4. ambitransitiveof a liquid

    Pass through an enemy line; in a military conflict

  5. transitive

    To cause to penetrate in this way.

  6. intransitiveof an intravenous needle

    To move from a vein, remaining in the body.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient
Frequency
Uncommon

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Pass into or through by filtering or permeating

Used this way, infiltrate is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use infiltrate

  • “The student organization was infiltrated by a traitor.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

cell infiltrateinfiltrate through

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.