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penetrate Definition

pen·etrate (pen′i trāt′)

transitive verb -·trat′·ed, -·trat′·ing

    1. to pass into; find or force a way into or through; enter by or as by piercing
    2. to insert the penis into (the vagina or anus) of
  2. to see into, or into the interior of to penetrate the darkness
  3. to have an effect throughout; spread through; permeate
  4. to affect or move deeply
  5. to grasp mentally; understand

Etymology: < L penetratus, pp. of penetrare, to pierce into, penetrate < base of penitus, inward, far within (< penus, store of food, storeroom, sanctuary of temple of Vesta < IE base *pen-, to feed, food) + (in)trare, enter

intransitive verb

  1. to make a way into or through something; pierce
  2. to have a marked effect on the mind or emotions

penetrate Synonyms

penetrate

v.

  1. To pierce

    bore, perforate, enter, insert, go through, make an entrance, stick into, jab, thrust, stab, force a way, make a hole, run into, seep in, filter in, run through, punch, puncture, drive into, stick, drill, ream, eat through, spear, impale, wound, gore, sting, prick, transfix, sink into, knife, bayonet, go through, pass through.

    Antonyms leave*, withdraw, turn aside.

  2. To permeate

    enter, infiltrate, seep; see filter. 1.

  3. To understand

    discern, perceive, grasp, comprehend, fathom; see also understand 1.

penetrate Usage Examples

Object

  • radar: We have surveys using ground penetrating radar of the Treblinka camp looking for mass graves.
  • armor: The first, smaller warhead nullifies reactive armor allowing the follow through charge to penetrate the main armor.
  • skin: No - the Laser Pointers do not penetrate the skin.
  • gaze: Croesus was deep in thought, but noticed the penetrating gaze of the youth.
  • radiation: The final card had to pay just emit the penetrating radiation.
  • wreck: Most people got the chance to explore and penetrate the wreck leaving everybody happy if not battered and bruised.

Preposition: through

  • cloud: Also, microwave energy is able to penetrate through clouds and most rain, making it an all-weather sensor.
  • skin: It does not penetrate through the skin to the rest of the body, so its action is highly localized.

Preposition: into

  • tissue: The sections need to be this thin, as electrons do not penetrate very far into tissue.
  • skin: When products that use peanuts are applied to broken skin the peanut protein can penetrate into the skin.
  • interior: They should penetrate into the interior and deal directly with independent farmers.

Adjective complement

  • damp: What are our options to reduce the penetrating damp, but not seal it in.
  • deep: This fungus has the ability to penetrate deep into the center of large trees.

Modifying Another Word

  • deeply: Showers were also penetrating deeply into England through the Cheshire gap.
  • miraculously: One by one, a stack of four 10p or 20p pieces miraculously penetrates the solid disk.
  • inland: In their narrow, shallow-draught, highly maneuverable longships, the Vikings penetrated far inland along rivers.
  • everywhere: Violence penetrates everywhere: in the pub, at the bus stop, in the sports room.
  • deep: These then penetrate deep into the fibers of your clothes lifting dirt away without damaging the fabrics.
  • easily: The forest is easily penetrated from the downhill hairpin on the forest track, through a ride between trees to the forest fence.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • through: Turn over carefully to make sure the dye has penetrated through to the other side.
penetrate Quotes

‚Ah s |¤ , ponerse a escribir otra vez, que¤   vomitivo! ‚Como si todo esto sirviera para algo, como si todo esto fuera a entrar en alguna cabezota, a entretener a alguno de los lectores babosos, ovillados en sus poltronas, frente al sopo¤ n  sopor|¤fero de cada d|¤a! Ah yes, going back to writing, how disgusting! As if all this had some purpose, as if all this would penetrate somethick skull, amusesome drivelling readercurledup in his armchair before the soporific stew of every day!

—Sappho   7c