penetrate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to pierce or pass into or through.
The bullet penetrated the wall. The fog lights penetrated the mist.
-
to enter the interior of.
to penetrate a forest.
-
to enter and diffuse itself through; permeate.
-
to arrive at the truth or meaning of; understand; comprehend.
to penetrate a mystery.
-
to obtain a share of (a market).
to penetrate the Canadian coffee market.
-
to affect or impress (the mind or feelings) deeply.
- Synonyms:
- touch
-
to extend influence, usually peacefully, into the affairs of (another country).
verb (used without object)
-
to enter, reach, or pass through something, as by piercing.
We penetrated to the interior of the Kasbah.
-
to be diffused through something.
-
to understand or read the meaning of something.
-
to have a deep effect or impact on someone.
verb
-
to find or force a way into or through (something); pierce; enter
-
to diffuse through (a substance); permeate
-
(tr) to see through
their eyes could not penetrate the fog
-
(tr) (of a man) to insert the penis into the vagina of (a woman)
-
(tr) to grasp the meaning of (a principle, etc)
-
(intr) to be understood
his face lit up as the new idea penetrated
Related Words
See pierce.
Other Word Forms
- penetrability noun
- penetrable adjective
- penetrably adverb
- penetrative adjective
- penetrator noun
- prepenetrate verb (used with object)
- unpenetrated adjective
Etymology
Origin of penetrate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin penetrātus “entered the interior of,” past participle of penetrāre “to enter the interior of,” from penet-, variant stem of penitus “deep down” + -āre, infinitive verb suffix, with the vowel change and addition of -r- probably by analogy with intus “inside,” intrāre “to enter” ( enter ( def. ) )
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.
By 2000 we had fielded the first generation of precision standoff weapons and further honed our missile defenses, electronic attack, and penetrating stealth capability.
"It is already known that nanoplastics can penetrate deep into our bodies. They are even found in brain tissue," he says.
From Science Daily
There are many ways to portray authoritarianism, but “Two Prosecutors” is penetrating in its depiction of a society being slowly poisoned.
From Los Angeles Times
Another idea is that heat penetrates beneath the surface, builds pressure, and eventually releases a shell of dust into space.
From Science Daily
‘Chuck Norris penetrated the internet as the internet was figuring out how to be something that took over the culture at large.’
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.
