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
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
Ms. Davidsen’s soprano is both beautiful and brilliantly penetrating; she can also sing softly and still be heard.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
To study its terrain, scientists must rely on radar imaging capable of penetrating the cloud layer.
From Science Daily • Feb. 12, 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
This difference in their points of view did not prevent Copley from endowing Revere’s portrait with an ingenious significance and penetrating characterization.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
