penetrate
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.
to extend influence, usually peacefully, into the affairs of (another country).
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.
Origin of penetrate
1synonym study For penetrate
Other words for penetrate
Other words from penetrate
- pen·e·tra·tor, noun
- pre·pen·e·trate, verb (used with object), pre·pen·e·trat·ed, pre·pen·e·trat·ing.
- un·pen·e·trat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use penetrate in a sentence
The Ukrainian military is believed to be thoroughly penetrated by Russian intelligence.
Exclusive: Ukraine Asked U.S. for Tech to Counter Russia's Jet-Killers | Eli Lake | July 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA fragment penetrated her shoulder, missing a major artery by an inch.
The Israeli App Red Alert Saves Lives—but It Just Might Drive You Nuts | Itay Hod | July 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe tumor in his colon had spread to four of his lymph nodes and penetrated the bowel wall.
Yet after a drink or two words the words “sanctions,” “tanks,” “crises” and “isolation” penetrated the conversation.
A Virtual Iron Curtain Closes In on Russia’s Intelligentsia | Anna Nemtsova | April 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOut of all the markets Ashley Madison has penetrated, Japan was the fastest to reach one million members.
Japan’s Desperate Housewives Opting for Adulterous Online Dating | Angela Erika Kubo, Jake Adelstein | April 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Before his rencontre with Ripperda at the Cardinal's, he had penetrated all the secrets of the Altheim apartments.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterThe machine penetrated everywhere, thrusting aside with its gigantic arm the feeble efforts of handicraft.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockTony, less self-centred, less rigidly contained, had penetrated her by an understanding sympathy greater than his own.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodHe had seen through her as if she had been made of glass; he had penetrated her artifices and detected her falsehoods.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniThe intense heat penetrated the leather palms of his black gauntlets.
British Dictionary definitions for penetrate
/ (ˈpɛnɪˌtreɪt) /
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
Origin of penetrate
1Derived forms of penetrate
- penetrable, adjective
- penetrability, noun
- penetrably, adverb
- penetrative, adjective
- penetrator, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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