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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use interpenetrate in a sentence

  • By then enough of the worlds should have reached maturity to offer some hope of peaceful interpenetration.

    Victory | Lester del Rey
  • Flannery had almost hoped that it would be O'Neill who would handle the problem of cultural interpenetration.

    Victory | Lester del Rey
  • In order to form a rigid and stable whole, the several faces must be allied by reciprocal interpenetration at the angles.

  • We meet as water meets water, or as two currents of air mix, with perfect diffusion and interpenetration of nature.

    Essays, First Series | Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • At his porch appears the first French arch of double curvature, the earliest interpenetration of archivolts.

    How France Built Her Cathedrals | Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly

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