penetrate
verb (used with object)
to pierce or pass into or through.
was penetrating
-
past progressiveof penetrate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Cold weather was penetrating the city, but that did not stop the musicians from going out to earn their keep.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2020
But all weekend, you got the sense that the good stuff was happening onstage — not much of the music’s live-wire energy was penetrating the audience or getting passed around.
From New York Times ● Oct. 9, 2017
Doors were slowly opening to women even at the flagship seminary in Louisville, and scholarship in fields like archeology, linguistics and the natural sciences was penetrating and changing theology discussions.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2012
The clarinetist Todd Palmer was penetrating in the work’s pensive introduction and conclusion.
From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2011
He had turned away from Richmond, and now, for the first time during the war, a Confederate army was penetrating into the North, into Shadrach’s home state of Pennsylvania.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
