- present participle of penetrate.
penetrating
Americanadjective
Synonym Usage
See acute.
Other Word Forms
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.
In its pages, he asks a series of penetrating questions: Does faith retain value even if the stories underlying it are human inventions?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
It recorded levels of tiny particulates capable of penetrating the bloodstream and lungs, known as PM2.5, at 288 micrograms per cubic metre, vastly exceeding the World Health Organization's recommended average annual exposure of five micrograms.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
VENUS, by contrast, produces high-energy neutrons capable of penetrating deeper into large objects and generating detailed 3D images.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
With her penetrating serve and thunderous groundstrokes, Rybakina has a brand of first-strike tennis that can take the racquet out of anyone's hands.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
A few minutes passed, various Griever sounds penetrating the walls every ten to twenty seconds.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
