infiltrates

verb

present tense third-person singular of infiltrate
as in sneaks
to introduce in a gradual, secret, or clever way over time, undercover agents infiltrated the crime ring and eventually busted their gambling racket

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of infiltrates The show, which stars Jessica Chastain as an investigator who infiltrates online hate groups to prevent incidents of mad violence. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 20 Sep. 2026 This coexistence of the everyday and the extraordinary suggested to me a cinematic way of approaching death – not as a spectacular intrusion, but as a presence that slowly infiltrates daily life. — Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026 When an outsider infiltrates the family, buried tensions surface and blood ties are severed. — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 24 July 2026 Yet up here hardly a sound infiltrates the noble trees that surround the estate. — Nielsen Dinwoodie, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026 Without it, walls can have a knock-on effect that infiltrates the rest of your room. — Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 7 June 2026 Nessa infiltrates Maryam’s life as her nurse, aiming to find the truth. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 7 May 2026 Conversely, water infiltrates sandy loam soil relatively quickly but also drains out fairly quickly. — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Apr. 2026 Directed by Daniel Chong, the movie is about a 19-year-old environmentalist who infiltrates the animal world in the body of a beaver. — Lindsey Bahr, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infiltrates
  1. sneaks
  2. worms
  3. inserts
  4. slips
Verb
  • Owen Wilson plays an overprotective dad who sneaks his 13-year-old son (Christian Convery) into the festival.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The titular bed trick refers to the literary device, beloved by Shakespeare and by opera buffa, in which a lover sneaks into a bed and, under cover of darkness, is taken for someone else.
    — S. C. Cornell, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of sneaks
Verb
  • MomTok got Taylor on the plane and off to star in The Bachelorette, but not before Dakota worms his way in one last time.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Guiteau eventually worms his way into an audience, ostensibly seeking an ambassadorship for his dubious contributions to the campaign but, in reality, requesting a path to greatness.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2025
Definition of worms
Verb
  • What should be a relaxing weekend quickly veers off course as Chuck inserts himself into the group and tests the limits of their patience.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The Relic chip, of course, is the impetus for the main storyline of Cyberpunk 2077, where V inserts the experimental tech that contains the soul, in effect, of a real person.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of inserts
Verb
  • The consideration worth making when delegating this is who has the credibility to hold the rest of the organization accountable when CRM hygiene slips or definitions get quietly reinterpreted.
    — Kylie Fuentes, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Taylor’s success on its own isn’t enough to redeem this season for the Sky, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2023 and whose relevance slips further with each loss and each draft pick that fails to hit.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of slips

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Cite this Entry

“Infiltrates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infiltrates. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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