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

"Since the bacteria are living organisms, over time they developed a resistance, in the form of a less penetrable membrane, to traditional disinfectants," Sánchez explained.

From Science Daily • Apr. 30, 2024

But Seattle’s defense has been so bad, so inconsistent and so penetrable that even Wilson’s greatness on the other side of the ball can’t solve all the problems.

From Washington Times • Nov. 9, 2020

In reality, it’s not a wall; it’s not hundreds of miles; it can be climbed; it’s penetrable, and in one instance, it failed to withstand wind gusts of 37 miles per hour.

From MSNBC • Jan. 30, 2020

“One of the reasons I like using the pins in these open configurations, is I’m creating a work that is porous and penetrable and changing. That’s the worldview that I believe in.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 31, 2018

In later years they change faces, places and maybe races, tactics, intensities and goals, but beneath those penetrable masks they wear forever the stocking-capped faces of childhood.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou