interpenetrate

[ in-ter-pen-i-treyt ]

verb (used with object),in·ter·pen·e·trat·ed, in·ter·pen·e·trat·ing.
  1. to penetrate thoroughly; permeate.

  2. to penetrate with (something else) mutually or reciprocally.

verb (used without object),in·ter·pen·e·trat·ed, in·ter·pen·e·trat·ing.
  1. to penetrate between things or parts.

  2. to penetrate each other.

Origin of interpenetrate

1
First recorded in 1800–10; inter- + penetrate

Other words from interpenetrate

  • in·ter·pen·e·tra·ble [in-ter-pen-i-truh-buhl], /ˌɪn tərˈpɛn ɪ trə bəl/, adjective
  • in·ter·pen·e·trant, adjective
  • in·ter·pen·e·tra·tion, noun
  • in·ter·pen·e·tra·tive, adjective

Words Nearby interpenetrate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use interpenetrate in a sentence

  • When our glances encounter each other, our souls rush forth in them, and seem to join and interpenetrate each other.

    Pepita Ximenez | Juan Valera
  • Present-day man possesses four bodies of increasing fineness, the elements of which interpenetrate.

    Reincarnation | Th. Pascal
  • Ethics and science have their own domains, which touch but do not interpenetrate.

  • Each atom is surrounded by a field, formed of the atoms of the four higher planes, which surround and interpenetrate it.

    Occult Chemistry | Annie Besant and Charles W. Leadbeater
  • All was so still that sleep seemed to interpenetrate the structure, causing the very moonlight to look discordantly awake.

    Lilith | George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for interpenetrate

interpenetrate

/ (ˌɪntəˈpɛnɪˌtreɪt) /


verb
  1. to penetrate (something) thoroughly; pervade

  2. to penetrate each other or one another mutually

Derived forms of interpenetrate

  • interpenetrable, adjective
  • interpenetrant, adjective
  • interpenetration, noun
  • interpenetrative, adjective
  • interpenetratively, adverb

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