penetrable

American  

[pen-i-truh-buhl] / ˈpɛn ɪ trə bəl /

adjective

1. capable of being penetrated.

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Other Word Forms

• nonpenetrability
  noun
• nonpenetrable
  adjective
• nonpenetrably
  adverb
• penetrability
  noun
• penetrableness
  noun
• penetrably
  adverb
• self-penetrability
  noun
• transpenetrable
  adjective
• unpenetrable
  adjective
• unpenetrably
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of penetrable

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin penetrābilis, equivalent to penetrā ( re ) to penetrate + -bilis -ble

Explanation

Something can be called penetrable if substances can pass through it. A coffee filter is penetrable, for example, because it allows water to drip through it. Your curtains are penetrable if they let sunlight peek through, and a country's borders are considered penetrable if they allow people to pass through them unnoticed by guards or customs officials. In basketball, having a penetrable defense is bad news — it means it allows the opposition's players to get right up to the basket, where they can easily shoot. Sometimes penetrable means "understandable," as in a penetrable poem or penetrable song lyrics.

Example Sentences

Verbal adjectives ending in bilis, taken passively, and participles made adjectives ending in dus, require a dative case; as Nulli penetrabilis astro; Penetrable by no star— not fond of acting?

From The Comic Latin Grammar A new and facetious introduction to the Latin tongue by Leech, John