penetrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to pierce or pass into or through.
The bullet penetrated the wall. The fog lights penetrated the mist.
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to enter the interior of.
to penetrate a forest.
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to enter and diffuse itself through; permeate.
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to arrive at the truth or meaning of; understand; comprehend.
to penetrate a mystery.
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to obtain a share of (a market).
to penetrate the Canadian coffee market.
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to affect or impress (the mind or feelings) deeply.
- Synonyms:
- touch
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to extend influence, usually peacefully, into the affairs of (another country).
verb (used without object)
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to enter, reach, or pass through something, as by piercing.
We penetrated to the interior of the Kasbah.
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to be diffused through something.
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to understand or read the meaning of something.
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to have a deep effect or impact on someone.
verb
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to find or force a way into or through (something); pierce; enter
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to diffuse through (a substance); permeate
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(tr) to see through
their eyes could not penetrate the fog
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(tr) (of a man) to insert the penis into the vagina of (a woman)
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(tr) to grasp the meaning of (a principle, etc)
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(intr) to be understood
his face lit up as the new idea penetrated
Related Words
See pierce.
Other Word Forms
- penetrability noun
- penetrable adjective
- penetrably adverb
- penetrative adjective
- penetrator noun
- prepenetrate verb (used with object)
- unpenetrated adjective
Etymology
Origin of penetrate
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin penetrātus “entered the interior of,” past participle of penetrāre “to enter the interior of,” from penet-, variant stem of penitus “deep down” + -āre, infinitive verb suffix, with the vowel change and addition of -r- probably by analogy with intus “inside,” intrāre “to enter” ( enter ( def. ) )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No timeline has been announced, but CAQK's small size matters because it is a short peptide that is easier to manufacture and can penetrate tissue well, making it a promising drug candidate.
From Science Daily
"The Big Five has already penetrated the political sphere and there are documented cases of high-profile connections in the political arena," the policeman alleged.
From BBC
Amazon’s backing might have helped it innovate into new robotics fields that Chinese firms hadn’t penetrated.
The noise, typically kept on all day, is a piercing sound that “penetrates your bones,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times
Compared with other sources, wildfire smoke contains a higher proportion of ultrafine particles miniscule enough to penetrate the brain after inhalation, Casey told The Times earlier this year.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
