infiltrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to filter into or through; permeate.
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to cause to pass in by filtering.
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to move into (an organization, country, territory, or the like) surreptitiously and gradually, especially with hostile intent.
The troops infiltrated the enemy lines.
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to pass a small number of (soldiers, spies, or the like) into a territory or organization clandestinely and with hostile or subversive intent.
The intelligence agency infiltrated three spies into the neighboring country.
verb (used without object)
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to pass into or through a substance, place, etc., by or as by filtering.
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Pathology. to penetrate tissue spaces or cells.
noun
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something that infiltrates.
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Pathology. any substance penetrating tissues or cells and forming a morbid accumulation.
verb
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to undergo or cause to undergo the process in which a fluid passes into the pores or interstices of a solid; permeate
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military to pass undetected through (an enemy-held line or position)
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to gain or cause to gain entrance or access surreptitiously
they infiltrated the party structure
noun
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something that infiltrates
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pathol any substance that passes into and accumulates within cells, tissues, or organs
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pathol a local anaesthetic solution injected into the tissues to cause local anaesthesia
Other Word Forms
- infiltration noun
- infiltrative adjective
- infiltrator noun
- reinfiltrate verb
- uninfiltrated adjective
Etymology
Origin of infiltrate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Its General Directorate of Intelligence has long monitored and infiltrated the activities of Cuban exile groups in the U.S.
Epstein also used his fortune to infiltrate America’s most prestigious universities.
Predator is sophisticated software that makes it possible to infiltrate mobile phones, access messages and photos, and even remotely activate the microphone and camera.
From Barron's
For Epstein, money was the primary means to infiltrate cash-hungry academic institutions, which can employ hundreds of people in their development offices.
AI is infiltrating workflows and becoming essential to jobs in finance.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
