infiltration
infiltration Lexical Profile
infiltration Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The action of entering or gaining access to an organization, place, or system surreptitiously and gradually, especially in order to acquire secret information or cause damage from within.
"The cybersecurity audit revealed a sophisticated infiltration of the company's internal network that had gone undetected for months."
The process by which water or another liquid slowly permeates or passes into a porous substance, such as soil or rock.
"Heavy clay soils have a low rate of water infiltration, which often leads to surface runoff during intense rainstorms."
The abnormal diffusion or accumulation of fluid, cells, or other substances within a bodily tissue or organ, or the injection of a local anesthetic directly into tissues.
"The biopsy confirmed lymphocyte infiltration in the affected tissue, while the minor procedure itself required only local anesthetic infiltration."
• Rhymes for infiltration
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the mid-18th century (likely influenced by French 'infiltration'), combining the prefix 'in-' (into) with 'filtration', ultimately from Medieval Latin 'filtrum' (felt used for straining liquids). Originally a scientific and medical term describing the seepage of fluids into porous materials or body tissues, it acquired its figurative sense of covert political or organizational penetration in the early 20th century.