permeable
adjective
Did you know?
“Our landscapes are changing … they’re becoming less permeable to wildlife at the precise moment animals need to move most,” writes Ben Goldfarb in his book Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. He’s describing the effects of highway infrastructure and at the same time clearly demonstrating the meaning of permeable, a word that traces back to a combination of the prefix per-, meaning “through,” and the Latin verb meare, meaning “to go” or “to pass.” Accordingly, a permeable landscape—such as one where humans have constructed wildlife overpasses—is one that allows animals to pass and spread through unimpeded. Permeable’s relative, the verb permeate (“to spread or diffuse through”) is another commonly used meare descendent, but other relations haven’t managed to permeate the language quite so widely, such as meatus (“a natural body passage”), congé (“a formal permission to depart”), and irremeable (“offering no possibility of return”).
Examples of permeable in a Sentence
Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
The skin has a permeable barrier, which prevents environmental irritants from harming you.
—Lisa Desantis, Health, 22 Mar. 2024
By reducing the grass footprint on this project, permeable hardscaping was swapped in the form of gravel and interlocking pavers to create a space for entertaining that would also provide crucial rainwater absorption.
—Sunset In Partnership With Yardzen, Sunset Plant Collection, Terra, and Timbertech, Sunset Magazine, 18 Mar. 2024
The latest incarnation added requirements to include a stormwater feature, mulch around plants and permeable hardscapes, as well as other changes.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024
Design elements include rainwater capture, native and climate-appropriate plants, plants for habitat, efficient irrigation, permeable paving and the utilization of compost and mulch.
—Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2024
Yes, tearing out existing hardscaping seems like an intimidating task, but creating a more permeable landscape to catch water runoff and introducing location-appropriate plants can increase health benefits not only for yourself, but the ecosystem around you.
—Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 22 Feb. 2024
Other storm water management practices may have helped mitigate the alley flooding, and the couple does have permeable pavers in lieu of an asphalt driveway.
—Bridget Reed Morawski, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023
Hence multiple areas are separated by a series of permeable screens with chandeliers lending a classic, opulent feel.
—The Arizona Republic, 1 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'permeable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near permeable
Cite this Entry
“Permeable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/permeable. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
permeable
adjective
Medical Definition
permeable
adjective
Share