penetrating
Americanadjective
Related Words
See acute.
Other Word Forms
- nonpenetrating adjective
- penetratingly adverb
- penetratingness noun
- unpenetrating adjective
- unpenetratingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of penetrating
First recorded in 1590–1600; penetrat(e) + -ing 2
Vocabulary lists containing penetrating
"Animal Wisdom" and "The Last Wolf," Vocabulary from the poems
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Skellig
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Insightful
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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.
But even Mahajan’s most “self-destructive” Chopras who “live deathwards” have motivations so sophisticatedly complex that readers will inhabit their eyes, ears and bodies without fully penetrating their psyches.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026
What is meant to be the most penetrating display of contemporary American art leaves one with a grim view of the state of creativity today.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
"My eyes nearly popped out of my skull," said project lead Dr Alex Langlands, after ground penetrating radar revealed the "huge structure" in Margam Country Park.
From BBC • Jan. 11, 2026
He replaced Ismaila Sarr just after Bakambu's opener, and made the leveller from a penetrating run down the right.
From Barron's • Dec. 27, 2025
The stocky build had dwindled to slimness, the thick silver hair tinted black, and the distinctive Ashton nose altered with putty, but those dark and penetrating eyes would be impossible to mistake.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
