Infiltration
/ɪnfɪlˈtreɪʃən/
Definitions
2 meaningsThe act of entering or gaining access to an organization or place surreptitiously, often to obtain secret information or cause damage.
/ɪnfɪlˈtreɪʃən/
The act of secretly entering or joining a group to gather information or cause disruption.
The infiltration of the city by rebel forces caused widespread chaos.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're trying to get into a secret club without being noticed. Infiltration is like sneaking in without anyone knowing, maybe to find out their secrets!
👶 For kids: It's like when a secret agent sneaks into a building to find out what's going on.
More Examples
The police investigated the infiltration of a criminal organization.
The company suffered a significant loss due to the infiltration of malware into their systems.
How It's Used
"The army used infiltration tactics to enter enemy territory undetected."
"The spy's success depended on their infiltration of the organization."
"Concerns arose about the infiltration of extremist groups into political movements."
The process by which a substance enters or permeates another.
/ɪnfɪlˈtreɪʃən/
The slow passage of a substance into something else.
The infiltration of rainwater into the soil helped the plants grow.
💡 Simply: Think of rain slowly soaking into the ground. That's infiltration! It's when something gradually enters and spreads into another thing.
👶 For kids: It's like when water slowly goes into the dirt.
More Examples
The medical report mentioned the infiltration of cancer cells into healthy tissue.
The porous ceramic allowed for the infiltration of the sealant.
How It's Used
"Water infiltration is crucial for replenishing groundwater reserves."
"The doctor noted signs of infiltration of the tumor into surrounding tissues."
"The researchers studied the infiltration of the liquid polymer into the porous material."
Synonyms
Idioms & expressions
Infiltrate the system
To secretly gain access to a computer network, organization, or process to gather information or cause disruption.
"The hacker aimed to infiltrate the system and steal sensitive data."
From French *infiltration*, from *infiltrer* 'to infiltrate', from Medieval Latin *infiltrāre*, from *in* 'in, into' + *filtrāre* 'to filter'.
The term has been used in military contexts for centuries, and gained more prominence in the 20th century with advances in espionage and warfare. It's been also used in environmental sciences, like infiltration of water into the soil.
Memory tip
Think of a spy slipping through a crack in the wall - that's infiltration.